After IT parliamentary committee report, industry body bats for convergence again

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that such convergence of the ministries would lead to the same regulations being equally applied to telcos and OTT communication platforms

A prominent industry body that represents telcos lauded the IT parliamentary committee’s recommendation that the IT ministry, information and broadcasting ministry, and the department of telecommunications should be brought under one umbrella to address regulatory issues stemming from technological convergence. This will lead to efficiency in policy formulation and compliance by companies, the body said.

The move will lead to efficiency in policy formulation and compliance by companies. (Representative file photo)

In a statement, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), whose core members are Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea, said that such convergence of the ministries would lead to the same regulations being equally applied to telcos and over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms such as WhatsApp, especially anti-spam regulations.

“Taking the same logic into the operational domain covering spam/fraud messages and calls spanning over both telecom networks and OTT channels, it is necessary to apply one set of policies and regulations to both components, i.e., TSPs and OTTs,” the statement read. It said that while telcos are governed by the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) 2018 to fight spam, app-based services are ungoverned.

“[T]he App based communications currently not under the same regulation, remain unchecked and are becoming a growing concern for the consumers and the government,” the statement said.

The “same service, same rules” argument is something that the telcos have been making for many years, much to the chagrin of technology companies. It was a sticking point in the open house discussions that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) held last year to discuss how authorisations (to replace the licensing regime) should be implemented under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. The telcos argued that the act requires WhatsApp-like services to need authorisation from the government to operate in India while the technology companies and their industry bodies argued otherwise.

The debate over regulatory convergence is not new. In 2023, the TRAI sought public input on whether telecom services (carriage) and broadcasting services (content) should be governed by a unified regulator, considering the changing technological landscape. TRAI also explored whether such a regulator should oversee OTT services including streaming platforms (Netflix) and communication platforms (WhatsApp). While the telcos batted for convergence, civil society and other industries including broadcasters, news publishers and technology companies argued against it.

The committee had also recommended that the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) should consider creating a Media Council to bring different forms of media including print, broadcast and digital under one umbrella body for better coordination and implementation of governing laws through a new Media Bill.