It sports that the over-the-top services including Facebook, WhatsApp, X, Instagram and Signal may come under a regulatory regime as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as the regulatory body is looking forward to coming up with recommendations on them.
Forming Of A Regulatory Body For OTT Services In India
The telecom regulator will now proceed with open house discussions on framing a regulatory mechanism for these OTT services, said the TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lohti.
Interestingly, the development comes at a time when the government had kept these services out of the regulatory regime, in a recently passed telecom act.
Further, Lohti mentioned that the telecom regulator will now proceed with open house discussions on framing a regulatory mechanism for these OTT services, as per the media report.
Adding, “I know we have an ongoing consultation on OTT communication. It is just that in the last few months we are burning the midnight oil clearing the number of references pending with us, and OTT communication is also in the line.”
Some Concerns
“The OTT consultation was initiated after the recommendation of a parliamentary committee so this consultation will be completed, and we will give our recommendations… which act it becomes a part of and which ministry or which regulator deals with it, is a separate matter,” Lohti said.
Prior to this, last year, the Lok Sabha passed the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, through a voice vote during December.
While introducing this bill, communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The bill [seeks] to amend and consolidate the law relating to development, expansion and operation of telecommunication services and telecommunication networks; assignment of spectrum; and for connected matters.”
This bill has replaced the earlier Indian Telegraph Act (1885) and the Wireless Telegraphy Act (1933).
It appears that industry bodies including the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Broadband India Forum (BIF) welcomed this bill.
Although, a few MPs and technology activists expressed their concern over the three fronts such as inclusion of “online services” including OTT messaging ones; stringent user verification norms; and fears of heightened surveillance.
“The Bill must contain provisions for distinguishing between traditional telecom services and Internet-based services,” said the internet society in a statement after the passage of the bill.
