The telecom operators recently asked the sector regulator to bring the OTT (0ver-the-top) communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram and more under licensing regime. The Broadband India Forum President, TV Ramachandran, in a statement said that this is not right. In fact, Ramachandran even said that bringing OTT under the Telecom Act in a complete violation of Article 14 of the consitution, said an ET report.
The major concern for the telcos is that OTT commuication players are offering similar services as them. However, they don't have to comply to any regulatory norm, creating an uneven playing field. In addition, the telecom operators have been burdened with the cost to upgrade networks to accommodate the large traffic that these social media platforms bring to their network.
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At this, Ramachandran said, "Comparing OTT services to telecom services of voice and SMS is completely erroneous and overlooks the vast and critical differences between the two categories."
He said that while telecom operators get access to interference free spectrum, right of way to set up telecom infra, numbering resources and more, the OTT players don't. Thus, both are not equal and OTT services should not be brought under telecom licensing regime. The Indian telecom operators are more concerned with the calling and texting features provided by the OTT platforms.
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These are similar services as to what the telcos provide, yet, there's no regulation over it. Reliance Jio, in its submission to TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) said, "In order to ensure the same rules for the same or similar services, it is important to bring such over-the-top (OTT) communication service providers under Access Services authorisation."
Bharti Airtel also has the same view and wants the OTT communication players to be regulated.
