During a meeting with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chief on Wednesday, telecom companies in India, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), called for legislation on over-the-top (OTT) firms sourcing information. The companies strongly advocated for a “same service-same law” approach and argued that OTT companies providing similar services to telcos should be governed by the same rules as applicable to popular OTT platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and more. The telecom companies also discussed various issues related to the OTT platforms and sought a reduction in taxes and license fees while encouraging the use of indigenous equipment.
At the meeting between the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and telecom operators, including Reliance Jio and Balaji board member Mahendra Nahata, the companies unanimously insisted that over-the-top (OTT) companies providing similar services to telcos should be governed by the same rules as applicable to popular OTT platforms like Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Google Meet. The telecom companies also sought reductions in taxes, such as their license fee, and a senior official from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) suggested encouraging the use of indigenous equipment.
Following the meeting, TRAI has scheduled another meeting with telcos on February 17 to discuss measures and action plans for improving the quality of service, reviewing norms and benchmarks for 5G services, and unsolicited commercial communications. The importance of the February 17 meeting has increased following the discussions in the previous meeting.
