OTT excluded from telecom services purview in new draft of Telecom Bill 2023
As per media reports, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said his ministry has sought a "light-touch" regulatory framework for OTT apps
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Monday presented a new draft of the Telecom Bill before the Parliament. The new bill proposes to keep OTT services out of the purview of the definition of telecom services.
Earlier, the draft of the bill included OTT services among a wide range of specialised communication services, including machine-to-machine communication, in-flight and maritime connectivity.
The previous drafts of the bill extended the definition of telecommunications services to include OTT services such as messaging platform WhatsApp and video calling programme Skype.
Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said his ministry sought a "light-touch" regulatory framework for such OTT apps.
The bill allows the government to take over, manage or suspend telecommunication services or a network over national security.
The new bill proposes the government be vested with the power to waive off the entry fees, licence fee and penalty etc. in the interest of consumers, ensuring competition in the market, availability or continuity of telecom networks, and national security.
According to reports, the draft bill paves the way for the government to allocate satellite spectrum and retains the powers given to India’s telecom regulator.
The draft bill also includes satellite spectrum to a list of sectors where the government has the right to administratively allocate the spectrum.
Satellite or orbit is a segment of radio spectrum made available when satellites are placed into orbit.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, aims to replace the 138-year-old Indian Telegraph Act that governs the telecom sector.
