OTT Regulations in India
Context:
- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a consultation paper on a regulatory framework for over-the-top (OTT) communication services on July 7 and solicited responses. Selective prohibition of these services is also mentioned in the study.
The fundamental problem:
- As a result of the unrest brought on by these platforms’ wide-reaching effects, a Parliamentary Standing Committee requested that the Department of Telecom (DoT) investigate the possibility of selectively banning OTT services.
- It is significant to note that only OTT communication services—such as WhatsApp, Signal, Meta, Google Meet, Zoom, and X—were covered in the consultation document; ‘content’ OTTs—such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and others—were omitted.
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) is responsible for content regulation, not the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which is a whole distinct topic.
- The TRAI has also requested definitions of OTT and proposals for cost-sharing arrangements between telecom service providers (TSPs) and OTT services from interested parties.
TSPs and OTTs are at odds with one another:
- Telecom service providers believe that because OTTs rely on and profit from the infrastructure that operators have been building over time, they should be regulated and paid. They aren’t at the moment.
- The telecoms’ revenues have declined as a result of OTT communications services.
- Users of these platforms can send Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS), instant messages, and audio and video conversations, all of which are provided online.
- Due to the elimination of traditional telecom services like voice calls and text messages, the income streams of telecom businesses are significantly impacted.
- OTT communication service providers don’t fund the government’s coffers or invest like TSPs do in the expansion of the nation’s network infrastructure.
- Without helping to build and maintain the digital infrastructure for access networks, OTT communication service providers enjoy a free ride on TSP-funded networks.
- OTT service providers had to put IT systems in place that would enable them to quickly halt operations in the event of an internet outage.
