New suggestions have been put out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to streamline the Telecom Act licensing procedure. Crucially, under this licensing scheme, the regulatory authority has excluded Over-The-Top (OTT) applications like WhatsApp, Google’s RCS, Telegram, and other similar platforms.
The updated guidelines support a “One Nation, One Authorization” framework, which provides a single, uniform authorisation system for all services and regions.
Any company that has this authorization may offer mobile, internet, broadband, landline, long-distance, satellite communication, machine-to-machine (M2M), and Internet of Things (IoT) services throughout the country, according to TRAI’s recommendation.
What Proposals Does TRAI Have Regarding Satellite-Based Services?
Additionally, one of TRAI’s ideas is to expand the range of services offered by the telecom industry by allowing satellite-based services to include voice calling and messaging capabilities. The regulatory authority further promotes the joint use of active and passive infrastructure by service providers, which may lead to increased efficiency and lower operating costs.
Additionally, TRAI has recommended the progressive removal of entrance fees throughout the permission renewal procedure to lessen the financial burden on telecom operators.
What Telecom Operators Told TRAI?
Telecom companies like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea have exerted pressure for these platforms to be regulated similarly to regular telecom services, but the exclusion still stands.
The telcos requested that TRAI provide licenses or approvals for over-the-top (OTT) communication applications, claiming that these apps offer comparable services to those provided by mobile phone operators, as per an Economic Times story published last month.
OTT applications, on the other hand, disagreed, arguing that the Information Technology Act already regulates them.
