Internet exchange points (IXPs) will need an authorisation for their services under the draft network authorisation rules that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) released on September 14. As per the rules, companies with an IXP authorisation can establish, maintain, and operate IXPs; facilitate peering and exchange of internet traffic originating from India or destined for India among entities authorised to provide internet service and content delivery networks (CDNs); and connect with other authorised IXPs. IXPs have to pay no fees to obtain this authorisation.
This comes after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended IXP authorisation earlier this year. The most significant departure from TRAI’s recommendations is that the draft rules do not require IXPs to block websites/URLs and specific network subscribers as identified by the Government on the grounds of national security or public interest. The government had questioned the technical feasibility of IXP-level content blocking in its response to TRAI’s recommendations, asking the regulator to clarify this condition because IXPs operate on the second layer of the open system interconnection (OSI) model. TRAI, however, had simply mentioned that DoT should look into the technical feasibility itself in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Telecom Engineering Centre.
In a conversation with MediaNama, Raunak Maheshwari, the director of Extreme Labs, mentioned that content blocking is not feasible at layer 2 of the OSI. Later, in another conversation, he highlighted that if the government asked IXPs to block, let’s say, Google, the most an IXP will be able to do is shut down Google ports.Â
Key conditions for authorisation of IXPs:
Eligibility conditions and applicability of the IXP authorisation:
To be eligible for the DoT authorisation, a company must be incorporated under the Companies Act. Any foreign direct investment into the IXP must be in compliance with the law and policies of India. The direct and indirect investors in the company must also be in compliance with Indian laws. IXPs applying for an authorisation must ensure that they do not have any investment from a prohibited investor.Â
Once a company applies for an IXP authorisation, the government may ask it for additional documents or clarifications before approval. The IXP authorisation is applicable for a period of 20 years from the date on which it comes into effect unless the government revokes it earlier. The authorisation is applicable on a national level. Each authorisation under the network authorisation rules (including IXP authorisation) is on a non-exclusive basis. The government may grant additional authorisations with the same or different terms and conditions for the same or different telecommunication networks, with no restriction on the number of entities it can provide the authorisation to.Â
General conditions for the DoT…
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