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Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Stephen Rose
CEO Render Networks
There is a new case brewing in the telecom industry as regulators debate on whether or not a consultation paper should be issued which would regulate the working of apps like WhatsApp and others since they essentially provide the same calling and messaging services, only difference being they do so using data channels. Over-The-Top (OTT) players is the word which has been used to define these companies, which provide the telecom services over data. The consultation paper which might be out soon (by next week) may also take into consideration non-calling apps like Netflix and Amazon. The consultation paper will convey the information and will ask for their inputs regarding the same.
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An Industry expert who happens to be tracking the developments in this matter said the following about the paper for OTT players “The paper is also likely to also seek industry views on whether there should be revenue share between OTT players and service providers,” the person said to Economic Times. “There will also be the element of non-calling apps, like say Netflix or others, whether there is any need for regulating them.”
However, while this might be unheard of for a lot of people, it is not the first time Trai is thinking of putting regulations in place for calling apps like WhatsApp. Trai has previously done a similar job in March 2015 where they raised the issue of these apps providing calling and messaging services without any license.
Although the paper included statements which raised issues about regulation of these apps, it also included norms which concerned net neutrality and took a higher stance regarding the subject. Later on, an entirely separate paper was issued. In November 2017, the government came up with the decision of supporting a free and open internet. This new development then forced the government to overlook the matter of OTT applications at that point of time.
