Telcos push for regulating OTT communication apps
Telecom companies have called upon the regulator to bring over-the-top (OTT) communication providers such as WhatsApp, Google's RCS and Telegram under regulatory licensing or authorisation since they provide similar services to what mobile phone operators offer.
Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have also backed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposal to overhaul the existing telecom licensing regime and bring a pan-India single licence, namely Unified Services Authorisation (National), to enable ease of doing business, simplify regulations, cut costs, reduce litigations and much more, in their response to a consultation paper floated by the regulator.
«OTT services and applications have thrived and multiplied, enabling factors being absence of any regulatory barriers and instant access to a global audience through the broadband connectivity powered internet,» Airtel wrote in its response to Trai's exhaustive consultation.
OTT players have become substitutes of text and voice services, it added. Telcos however didn't name any specific app.
OTT communication apps in the past have pushed back at this proposal, saying they are already regulated by the IT laws.
The telcos said the proposal for a single pan-India authorisation marks the first significant change in the licensing regime in 30 years since 1994. But they cautioned that the new regime must not dismantle the existing structural core of the telecom sector. For instance, the scope of existing entities must remain intact, they said.
