The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a Consultation Paper on the Definition of International Traffic on Tuesday, seeking recommendations from stakeholders on the matter.
DoT requested TRAI's Recommendations
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested the TRAI's recommendations on the definition of International SMS and Domestic SMS through a reference dated August 30, 2022, under Section 11(1)(a) of TRAI Act, 1997 (as amended).
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Telecommunication traffic
According to the Regulatory, Telecommunication traffic, which refers to the load carried on a telecommunication network, includes voice calls, SMS, and other types of traffic. Telecommunication traffic can be domestic traffic, which comprises traffic within the country, and international traffic. In the Indian context, intra-circle traffic and inter-circle traffic, as defined in the Unified License, make up domestic traffic.
TRAI intends to Define Term 'Domestic Traffic'
While intra-circle and inter-circle traffic are the only two components of domestic traffic, the term 'domestic traffic' has been defined implicitly in the Unified License. However, the term 'international traffic' has not been defined in the Unified License, and 'international SMS' is a type of 'international traffic.' Therefore, the TRAI intends to define the term 'international traffic' instead of defining international SMS in the Unified License Agreement.
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Consultation Paper on Definition
The TRAI has placed a Consultation Paper on the Definition of International Traffic on its website, seeking inputs from stakeholders. The paper aims to gather opinions on the definition of international traffic and seeks to ensure that the term is appropriately defined to avoid any ambiguities.
This move is expected to bring more clarity and transparency to the definition of international traffic in the Indian telecommunication sector. The stakeholders have been requested to provide their comments by May 30, 2023, and counter comments by June 13, 2023.
