NEW DELHI: The government on Monday introduced the final draft of the Indian Telecommunications Bill 2023, which preserves the powers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), drops over-the-top (OTT) services from the ambit of telecom services, and provides for the direct allocation of satellite spectrum to telecom companies.
The bill seeks to replace three existing pieces of legislation related to the regulation of telecom services — the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the IndianWireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires Act, 1950.
The first draft of the bill was introduced by the Ministry of Communications in September 2022. It contained provisions that were feared to undermine the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) powers and also included OTT services like WhatsApp, Telegram, etc within ambit of telecom services.
The final version of the bill also calls for an administrative method for the allocation of satellite spectrum to telecom companies as opposed to auction. It also allows the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in case of public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
Among other things, it prohibits telecom companies from using devices that are not from trusted sources and mandates biometric identification of all customers before issuing SIM cards. “This decision to allocate the satellite spectrum through a globally harmonised administrative method will pose a greater good for the nation...,” said Lt Gen A K Bhatt (Retd), Director General, Indian Space Association (ISpA).
What is new
Drops OTT in definition of telecom services
Powers of TRAI not disturbed
Provides for non-auction route for satellite spectrum allocation