Telco-OTT debate rages on in India

Private service providers are at loggerheads with over-the-top (OTT) players in India. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which counts Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as its members, claims OTT platforms like WhatsApp, Netflix and Telegram fall under the Access Services category in the Telecommunications Act 2023, but the OTT players take a different view.

"As per our understanding, OTT communication services are covered under the new Telecom Act as an access service," said Lt. Gen. Dr SP Kochhar, director general at COAI. "To address the issues of the non-level playing field and ensure adoption of principles of 'same service, same rule', these competing and substitutable services should be included under Access Services authorization under the new framework."

"Bringing OTT communication services under the authorisation/licensing regime would ensure fair competition, address potential biases, and foster a level playing field within the telecommunication industry," COAI said in its comments on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) consultation paper on the Framework for Service Authorizations to be Granted Under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.

Tech groups, including the Broadband India Forum (BIF), National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), argue that OTTs are already governed by Information Technology Act 2000 so they don’t need to be included in the purview of the Telecommunications Act 2023. Additionally, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw clarified last year that OTT apps are governed by the Information Technology Act of 2000 and not the Telecommunications Act 2023.

The debate was renewed last month when TRAI issued a consultation paper on the framework for service authorizations to be granted under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. The paper seeks comments from the industry on how to grant licenses for services covered by the new telecom law.

According to media reports, the groups supporting OTT platforms said that telcos and OTTs work on different technology layers, OTTs on the application layer and telcos on the network layer. COAI alleges this is fundamentally flawed and doesn't reflect the reality of modern IP communications.

"It is crucial to understand that TSPs (telecom service providers) operate across all seven layers of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. This comprehensive approach ensures end-to-end service delivery, from physical infrastructure to user-facing applications. Their service delivery is on the application layer of the OSI stack," said COAI.