Battle lines drawn in India's internet debate

More than a million Indians join online campaign to try to keep the net free of rules seen as favouring telecom firms.

More than a million Indians have come together in an attempt to ensure that internet services remain free of government regulations seen as favouring big telecom companies, in the world's third largest internet using country.

In one of the biggest online campaigns of recent times, Indians have given a verdict in favour of net neutrality after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) sought peoples' feedback last month.

TRAI sought to know whether any service or application provided online like messaging and voice services, e-commerce sites and apps should be regulated, and whether consumers should not just pay for data but also access to certain websites and services.

TRAI set a deadline of April 24 and, within days, was receiving 50 emails per minute in what activists called was the biggest such response to a government discussion paper in India.