Draft Telecom Bill 2022 Cleared by the Cabinet: Report

Reported by Tanuja K August 5th, 2023 at 04:53 pm

The bill will also focus on improving customer protection and experience of using mobile networks by reducing spam and fraudulent calls for them. The draft telecom bill outlined that the spectrum could be given to the licensed players through an administrative process, an auction, or any other mechanism that the government deems fit.

Highlights

The Union Cabinet has cleared the new telecom bill for India.
The Draft Indian Telecommunications Bill 2022 has been cleared by the Union Cabinet.
The draft bill, when introduced in September 2022, received a lot of flak from the industry people and the tech/social media companies.

The Union Cabinet has cleared the new telecom bill for India. The new bill aims to replace three acts, including the Indian Telegraphy Act of 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1933, and the Telegraph Wires (unlawful possession) Act of 1950. According to a report from the Mint, the Draft Indian Telecommunications Bill 2022 has been cleared by the Union Cabinet. The draft bill, when introduced in September 2022, received a lot of flak from the industry people and the tech/social media companies.

This is because the draft bill talked about bringing OTT (over-the-top) communication platforms under the regulation of the government. This is because millions of Indians today use OTT communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram and more to stay connected with their work peers, family, and friends. Tech companies and social media companies have taken a hard stance on no regulation for OTT communication apps.

However, as per the report, the government is unlikely to back down from its decision. Although the government has clarified that it aims to only implement light-touch regulation, tech companies are uncomfortable with the notion of being under regulation by the central government. A senior government official told Mint that "what needs to be done will be done" to protect the users when they use the OTT communication platforms to text or send videos/documents and more.

Further, the industry people were questioning the draft telecom bill of 2022 initially because it also talked about reducing the powers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). However, the report from Mint suggests that it is not the case anymore, and after the revision of the draft telecom bill, TRAI's powers remain untouched in the industry.

The bill will also focus on improving customer protection and experience of using mobile networks by reducing spam and fraudulent calls for them. The draft telecom bill outlined that the spectrum could be given to the licensed players through an administrative process, an auction, or any other mechanism that the government deems fit. The report adds that the revised draft telecom bill might not be introduced during the ongoing parliament session.