SUMMARY
IAMAI called the definition of telecommunications services in the draft telecom Bill ‘overly broad’
The industry body has not opposed the inclusion of telecommunication or cloud service apps but has asked not to include OTT applications
It has stated that these services only use the existing spectrum of services and cannot be owned or controlled by the central government
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The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has suggested keeping the OTT and DTH services out of the ambit of the Telecommunications Bill. The body has written to the government stating that its definition of telecommunications services in the draft Telecom Bill, 2022 is ‘overly broad’.
According to an ET report, IAMAI, the industry body that represents tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, Twitter, Microsoft and several Indian startups believes that ‘telecommunication’ can cover video calls, emails, messages as well as other cloud service providers.
But since platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram are just application layers, they should not be treated in the same category as TSP (telecom service providers).
While all the other participants agreed to the submission, only Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm had a different opinion than IAMAI.
The industry body also added that these application layers or internet-based services cannot be considered to be owned and controlled by the central government, mostly because these services use the existing spectrum only.
Majority Against The Inclusion Of OTT, DTH Services In Telecom Bill
The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) – an industry body representing big tech companies including Meta, Apple, Alphabet and Amazon – has also opposed the draft telecom Bill’s inclusion of over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps.
It argued that the provisions of the Bill will indirectly give the power decryption power to the government to disclose messages of individuals or force messaging platforms to break the encryption on its orders.
Since the Bill expands the scope to telecom services and networks, the latter is likely to include OTT communication services, internet-based communications, internet and broadband services and even DTH services. Thus, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) is also looking to seek clarity of definitions to exclude the inclusion of DTH and broadcasting services from the telco Bill.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), too, opposed the inclusion of OTT communication apps such as WhatsApp in the draft telecom Bill. It has advocated that an issue-based approach for policymaking should be looked at since OTT services are different from traditional telecom service providers and have different economic and security implications.
Digital rights groups Access Now and the IFF (Internet Freedom Foundation) have also opposed the OTT-related provisions.
Only the cellular operators association of India (COAI) has asked for umbrella regulations on all telco-related players, including OTT players.
The draft of the Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, alongside an explanatory note was released by the telco ministry in September 2022. The last date inviting comments from the general public, stakeholders and industry associations was initially November 10 which has been extended to November 20, 2022 now.
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