OTT Services vs Telecom: BIF Opposes Bringing WhatsApp, Telegram Under Licensing

New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) Industry body Broadband India Forum on Monday contested telecom operators' suggestion to bring internet call and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Google Meet under the ambit of telecom licences.

Broadband India Forum (BIF) President TV Ramachandran, in a statement, said bringing OTT (over-the-top) services under the Telecom Act is in complete violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equal treatment to every person and entity.

"Comparing OTT services to telecom services of voice and SMS is completely erroneous and overlooks the vast and critical differences between the two categories," Ramachandran said.

He said telecom service providers enjoy several exclusive and unique rights that include the right to interference-free spectrum, numbering resources, right of way to set up infrastructure etc. However, OTT players neither have these privileges nor do they own the network or control the access to telecom infrastructure.

Industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) estimates that telecom operators have spent an additional Rs 10,000 crore in 2022-23 to support traffic generated by large entertainment and communication apps.

Telecom players have been demanding that the large data traffic generator foreign apps should bear the infrastructure cost burden based on the traffic that they generate.

Telecom operators, in their latest submission to sector regulator Trai, have unanimously demanded to bring over-the-top apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram within the ambit of the licensing regime under the new Telecommunication Act.

Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and industry body COAI -- in their comments on the consultation paper issued by Trai, seeking views on the framework for service authorisations to be granted under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 -- have said that the calling and messaging apps should be brought under services to be provided through authorisation.

"As per our understanding, OTT Communication services are covered under the new Telecom Act as an access service," Telecom operators industry body COAI said in its submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

Reliance Jio said the definition of 'message' and 'telecommunication service' under the newly enacted Telecommunication Act, 2023, includes all forms of telecommunication services, including the communication services provided over the top using the platform, servers or switches hosted in the public internet.

"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," Reliance Jio said.

Bharti Airtel said the Telecom Act has a broad definition of 'telecommunications', which includes "any sign, signal, writing, text, image, sound, video, data stream, intelligence or information sent through telecommunication" and it leaves ample room for the inclusion and regulation of OTT communication services under the Act.

Airtel said that while licence conditions ensure that communications exchanged through traditional telecom services can be monitored by law enforcement agencies, the same is not true of OTT communications services, which continue to be unmonitored – hindering the processes of law enforcement and crime prevention.