India may pull plug on Facebook’s bid to offer free Internet service

In a decision that could have momentous implications for the private sector’s role in expanding Internet access in the developing world, India’s telecoms regulator is expected to rule this week on whether to cut off Facebook’s Free Basics — a package of free online services, including Facebook, that the social media company wants to offer India’s 1.2 billion people.

The decision from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will close the book on months of public debate between digital rights activists and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is touting Free Basics as a partial solution to India’s meager Internet penetration — only 15 percent of the population has access. Open Internet advocates, however, argue that Free Basics undermines the principle of net neutrality by letting a corporation dictate which Internet services are available to the poorest Indians, who cannot afford regular Internet access.

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