To regulate OTT apps or not? Trai begins consultation process
Telegram and Signal. The issue pits the app makers and the startup community against telcos. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will also deliberate selective banning of OTT services during instances of civil unrest that has a broad impact.
As reported by ET on July 7, Trai has sought views on the definition and classification of OTTs as well as demands for a level-playing field with telcos. It has also asked for views on whether regulation is required for OTTs and what form this should take. Telcos have for long demanded that communication apps be regulated as they offer similar services without the security and financial obligations attached to a licensee.
OTT players have argued they are already regulated under the IT Act and more rules will only stifle innovation. Trai Friday released the 87-page consultation paper on the regulatory mechanism for OTT communication services and selective banning after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asked the agency to reconsider its 2020 recommendations. Trai had proposed at the time that OTT services need not be regulated.
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