Telecom operators including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have urged the central government to ensure that calling and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Google Meet and Telegram comply with the rules like all other service providers.
In a statement, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said it was misleading to exclude OTT communication apps from the Telecom Act, 2023. Like telecom operators, such OTT apps should also be subject to various non-sectoral regulations, according to its members.
“COAI wishes to express that 'security of the nation' is of utmost importance and in this regard, all communication service providers including OTT based communication services must comply with the necessary directives of the country as telecom service providers are doing,” COAI Secretary General SP Kochhar said.
Meanwhile, India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly made it clear that it will not regulate OTT apps under the new Telecom Act, despite pressure from telecom operators.
According to the Act, telecommunications means the transmission, transmission or reception of a message by wire, wireless, optical or other electromagnetic system, regardless of whether the message is subjected to reorganization, computation or other processing by any means in the course of its transmission, transmission or reception.
In a statement, Kocher noted that the rapid expansion of OTT services and the unbridled growth of communications platforms poses significant security threats and creates an uneven playing field between regulated, law-abiding and unregulated service providers.
Citing existing regulations like IT Act, 2000, Indian Penal Code, 1860, Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and DPDP Act, 2023, Kochhar pointed out that some people are arguing that OTT telecom services should be exempted from the scope of the Act, 2023. “This argument is completely misleading as the requirement purely pertains to the regulatory oversight of telecom services which is expressly provided for in the Telecom Act, 2023. It is important to emphasise that TSPs regulated under the Telecom Act are also regulated by all the above laws enacted by Parliament,” he said.
Notably, telecommunications companies have been calling on the government to provide a level playing field by applying the same rules to calling and messaging apps that apply to them.