NEW DELHI: The government is working on a regulatory framework for selective banning of OTT services in the country, and has sought stakeholders’ suggestions on the issue. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Friday released a consultation paper seeking recommendations on the issue.
The consultation paper has asked the stakeholders about the possible technical challenges in selectively banning specific over-the-top (OTT) services and websites in specific regions of the country for a specific period and has sought technical solutions to overcome such challenges.
The telecom regulator has asked the stakeholder if there is a need to selectively ban specific websites apart from OTT services to meet the purposes. The regulator has also sought views on which classes of OTT services can be covered under the selective banning of OTT services. It also wants to know the provisions and mechanisms for such a regulatory framework.
TRAI also wants to bring OTT communication services such as WhatsApp, Signal, or Messenger under the licensing regime. Trai wants to know if there is a need to bring OTT communication services under any licensing or regulatory framework to promote a competitive landscape for the benefit of consumers and service innovation.
Telecom service providers like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel or Vodafone Idea have been demanding regulation of communication apps citing they offer the same services. The telcos are of the view that they need to seek license and several regulatory provisions, which these OTT communication apps don’t have to.
Regulation of communication apps