Operators say “same-service-same-rules” principle should be adopted for regulating OTT apps like WhatsApp, Telegram

Continuing their battle against over-the-top (OTT) firms, telecom operators have demanded that such apps should be regulated and brought under the purview of telecommunication services in the upcoming telecom bill.

In a recent letter to the government, operators said the “same-service-same-rules” principle should be adopted for regulating OTT apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. A copy of the letter was seen by ET.

ET had earlier reported that OTT apps were likely to be removed from the definition of telecommunications services in the bill. This was done after the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) objected to the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) move to bring OTTs under the ambit of telecommunications.

Meity is the nodal ministry when it comes to OTTs and other internet firms. The government plans to incorporate regulatory provisions around OTTs in the upcoming Digital India Act.

However, the DoT currently believes that the existing definition under the Indian Telegraph Act is good enough and there is no need to specifically put OTT in the new Bill. “We (DoT) don’t have any intent to regulate OTT. No revenue share, nothing at all,” said an official, asking not to be named.

As per the Telegraph Act, a “telegraph” defines any appliance, instrument, material or apparatus used or capable of use for transmission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, visual or other electro-magnetic emissions, radio waves or Hertzian waves, galvanic, electric or magnetic means.

Responding to reports about omission of OTTs in the telecom bill, the telcos said the government’s earlier decision to include and define OTTs in the telecom bill was a prudent and forward-looking approach and deviating from the same may be a retrograde step for the telecom industry, which is an essential infrastructure sector.

“We believe that such technologies which operate by heavily exploiting telecom networks and also offer services which perfectly substitute the fundamental offerings from licensed telcos must be defined clearly in the telecom bill,” the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a recent letter to communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

COAI counts all the private telecom operators–Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as its members.

The telcos highlighted that the upcoming telecom bill should govern all the aspects of OTT services, including financial and security conditions, which presently do not fall under the purview of any other government rule or Act. They also reiterated their demand for a revenue share from the big OTT players.

However, the OTT players have pushed back, saying they are already governed by the IT Act and any move to further regulate them would stifle innovation. App makers have also strongly resisted telcos’ demand for a revenue share for using their networks, arguing that it would harm net neutrality. The operators have rejected this claim.