TRAI Asks If OTT Players Like WhatsApp & Skype Must Be Regulated

TRAI has floated a paper asking if the rules that apply to telecom players should apply to OTT platforms as well.

Telecom players want the same rules they are bound by to apply to services like Skype and WhatsApp.

(Photo: iStock)

Should over-the-top (OTT) services like WhatsApp and Skype be regulated? That’s what India’s telecom regulator wants to know in a consultation paper it has floated to seek opinions on regulating these communications platforms.

TRAI’s paper titled “Regulatory Framework for Over The Top Communications Services” is seeking a discussion around what changes will be needed around current telecom regulations to be able to govern these platforms as well. These include WhatsApp, Skype, Hike, WeChat and others.

What TRAI’s concern is that these services overlap or are similar in nature to the services provided by telecom service providers (in the form of calls and messages). The regulator feels there may be economic concerns with these OTT services. In this regard it wants to know if licensing rules that apply to telecom providers should apply to OTT service providers as well.

The telecom regulator also wants to know if a “regulatory imbalance” is affecting investments in the telecom sector in terms of expanding capacity, and whether OTT players can drive investments in telecom networks.

The regulator also touched up on national security - asking what the responsibilities of OTT players and telecom providers should be in terms of communication.

OTT players have been saying that if they are brought under a regulatory regime, it would hamper innovation. However, telecom service providers have been saying that if these players offer the same or similar services, then the same rules that apply for telecom players should apply for OTT players too.

The regulator wants to put an end to that argument with the latest consultation paper. The Cellular Operators Association of India has said it will come out with a response after discussing TRAI’s paper. It sees an ‘equitable solution’ to this debate.

TRAI has asked for the industry’s responses by 10 December, 2018, while counter arguments can be posted by 24 December 2018.