Indian Telcos Support SIM-Binding for OTT Apps

Live

Hardik Jagda

CEO Proximity

AI is becoming central to modern sports broadcasting

Andrew Bonwick

Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance

How insurance and risk models are evolving to support satellite connectivity

Madhav Sheth

CEO of Ai+ Smartphone

Bold attempt to design smartphones specifically for Indian consumers.

Stephen Rose

CEO Render Networks

Why execution in the trenches may be the real key to AI readiness

indian telcos support sim binding for ott

The Indian telecom operators have supported the SIM binding move for OTT (over-the-top) services. These are OTT based communication apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and more. The notification from DoT (Department of Telecommunications) recently came and is aimed at making cyber experience safe for users.

Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source

“COAI welcomes and commends the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for taking a landmark step towards bolstering National Security and safeguarding our citizens, by mandating SIM-binding for devices for App based Communication Services,” said Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar, Director General, COAI.

“This mandate requires that the App based Communication Services must remain continuously linked to the SIM card, which is associated with the Mobile Number used for identification of customers/users or for provisioning or delivery of services. Such continuous linkage ensures complete accountability and traceability for any activity undertaken by the SIM card and its associated Communication App, thereby closing long-persistent gaps that have enabled anonymity and misuse.”

This is something COAI has advocated for a long time. The telecom body represents companies such as Vodafone Idea (Vi), Bharti Airtel, and Reliance Jio. The telecom department has said that the OTT based platforms need to ensure that users are logged out of their web/desktop logins in every six hours.

So if you are using WhatsApp on your desktop/web, then you will need to log-in again and again every six hours. This will definitely be a huge pain for the consumers. The telcos are supporting this notion, however. Users have not reacted well to this notification from the telecom department online.