Many industry bodies and institutions representing OTT communication apps such as WhatsApp and Google RCS have expressed their views over telecom service providers' demand to bring OTT communication apps under a licencing framework.
As per a report by Inc42, this comes days after telecom operators such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) demanded TRAI to revamp its telecom licence regime and bring messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram under the new telecommunication act’s framework.
The Broadband India Forum (BIF) said that a single authorisation framework would “greatly damage” the regulatory framework and that different service providers require different services and conditions.
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BIF also said that it would consolidate power within the hands of a few and create an anti-competitive landscape. This would result in the imposition of unnecessary regulatory burden for those service providers who “only wish to provide a specific service or in a specific licence area.”
Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said that OTT service providers operate on a different application layer and does not fall within the scope of the act. It also said that OTT apps are not riding “free” on telcos and could contribute “highly” towards driving revenue and creating demand for online content.
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The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) reportedly said that creating a “controlled licensing and pre-authorisation regime” for OTT platforms may have a “vitiating effect” on India’s internet ecosystem and pose hurdles to the operation of OTT platforms in the country.
The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) said the arguments of telecom operators around “a level playing field” are unfounded. It added that similar licencing mandates cannot be applied to fundamentally different services.
