Telcos Demand Equal Rules for OTT, Telecom Services

New Delhi: Leading telecom operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea on Friday urged the government for a uniform regulatory framework for both traditional telecom services and over-the-top (OTT) messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. In particular, the telcos stressed that OTT platforms offering similar communication services should be subjected to the same rules and licensing requirements as traditional telecom operators.

The demand for telecom operators came when Union minister of communications Jyotiraditya Scindia met with chief executive officers (CEOs) of the major telecom companies, who demanded proper regulation for key social media messaging platforms. “The current regulatory gap creates an uneven playing field, which is detrimental to fair competition in the sector,” they said.

This was the second round of discussions with the stakeholder advisory committee (SAC), where telcos highlighted the challenges they face due to the differing regulations between telecom services and OTT messaging platforms. The telecom operators also cited the recently passed Telecom Act, which they believe extends to OTT messaging services, as the basis for this demand.

However, Scindia stressed creating more jobs at entry level in local telecom manufacturing segments, which will help in building up skilled manpower resources. “The government is focused on resolving issues in a time-bound manner and creating an industry-friendly process,” the telecom minister said.

Advocating for a revenue-sharing model with large traffic generators on telecom networks, top officials of telecom companies are also of view that such a model is necessary to support the infrastructure for handling high data volumes. As discussions continue within the SAC, the outcome could considerably impact the future of the telecom and OTT industries in India.