BSNL, Vodafone Idea Show Recovery Signs; TRAI Eyes OTT and Spam Regulation
New Delhi: State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the country's third-largest private telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) have started showing "positive signs" on the back of support from the government and the industry, said a top official of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in an industry event here on Friday.
Besides, the official further said that the telecom watchdog would also proceed with open house discussions on regulatory mechanisms for over-the-top (OTT) communication services, and plans to also initiate consultation to tighten norms for pesky calls and messages soon.
Speaking at a symposium in the national capital, Trai chief Anil Kumar Lahoti said that revival course of Vodafone Idea and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd augur well for India, given that continued presence of four players in Indian telecom market will ensure competition and, in turn, benefit consumers and health of the industry.
On Vi, which has completed equity fundraise with a massive FPO recently, Lahoti noted that the company's recent statement that it was on path to recovery following capital raise is a good sign. “People have shown confidence in the company, and the company is saying they are on a path of recovery which is a good sign. For a country like India, having four players is good competition from the point of view of consumer and health of industry,” he said.
On the fate of its consultation paper on OTT communication (services such as WhatsApp and Signal) in the wake of the advent of the Telecom Act, Lahoti also said Trai will proceed with the process of holding open house discussion in around three months or so. “I know, we have an ongoing consultation on OTT communication. It is just that in the last few months we are burning the midnight oil, clearing the number of references pending with us, and OTT communication is also in the line,” the Trai chief said, adding that the regulator intends to hold an open house discussion on OTT soon.
“The OTT consultation was initiated after the recommendation of a Parliamentary Committee so this consultation will be completed, and we will give our recommendation. Which Act it becomes a part of and which ministry, or which regulator deals with it, is a separate matter. Trai is dealing with OTT communication as a subject,” he affirmed.
On the issue of pesky and unsolicited commercial calls and messages (technically referred to as Unsolicited Commercial Communications) that tend to irk telecom subscribers, he said that Trai has taken note of the problem and will bring a consultation paper, next month, to significantly revise regulation so issues are addressed. “We will be revising the regulations and will tighten the mechanism, to clamp down on calls being made from normal 10-digit numbers and (will also address) other forms of misuse,” he added.