Bearing good news for the major telcos of the country, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia has shared that regulating over-the-top (OTT) platforms comes under the purview of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).
The Minister’s statement comes amidst telecom operators pushing OTTs to share infrastructure costs.
Read more: Jio, Airtel, Vi urge Telecom Minister Scindia to regulate Google, WhatsApp
Although according to the OTT players, such a move could stifle innovation.
It is to be noted that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is also looking into telecom operators’ requests to push OTT to share infrastructure costs.
In an interview with ANI, Scindia said, “…that is something that, to be very candid, comes under the domain of the Ministry of I&B. Having said that, I have six advisory groups that I have set up and this concept has come up as an issue that they would like to discuss from the point of view of the TSPs (telecom service providers).”
While TSPs argue that cost-sharing could support much-needed investments in their network expansion, critics highlight the potential violation of net neutrality principles, noted ANI report. Net neutrality mandates equal treatment of all internet traffic, prohibiting payments from content providers to TSPs. Introducing such payments, critics argue, could allow network operators to prioritize certain platforms, undermining the internet’s democratic nature.
Read more: TRAI to soon release recommendations on regulating OTT apps under Telecom Act
In the recent past, telcos have been urging the Minister to bring OTT communication players like Google, WhatsApp and Telegram under the regulatory fold and Telecom Act, as they rely on telecom infrastructure.
In September, the likes of Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani and its MD Pankaj Pawar, Rajan Mittal, VC of Bharti Enterprises and Akshaya Moondra, MD, Vodafone Idea, among others, met the Minister to discuss ‘ease of doing business’.
Meanwhile, the likes of Broadband India Forum (BIF), National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) have argued that OTTs are already governed by the Information Technology Act 2000. In fact, last year, the then telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also clarified that OTT apps are governed by the IT Act and not the Telecom Act.