03 July 2024

India’s telecom operators have voiced their displeasure at not having a level playing field compared to the OTT texting platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has said that it hopes a level playing field can be ensured between the telcos and the OTT texting apps when it comes to meeting regulatory compliances.

OTT apps do not have to meet the regulatory compliances as telcos, which annoys telecom operators, who had previously asked the government to bring OTT apps under regulation. However, the government decided not to include the OTT platforms under telecom regulation in the new telecom act, 2023.

“COAI and its members are working closely with the Government and the Regulator towards addressing the issue of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC),” said the COAI.

“TRAI’s Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), was introduced in 2018, to address the menace of UCC. TCCCPR is based on a technological solution, i.e. Blockchain - Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), to provide the best possible solution to curb UCC. This is the first and the largest use case of DLT in telecom, globally. This also involves multiple stakeholders, i.e. Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), Telemarketers, Aggregators, Principal Entities (PEs), etc,”

“While the industry continues to assist the DoT, the TRAI and the Department of Consumer Affairs etc. in addressing the UCC menace, we look forward to progressive action from the authorities to ensure a level playing field in regulatory compliance requirements between TSPs and other messaging platforms providing similar communication services,” added SP Kochhar, director general, COAI.