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nasscom’s Counter Comments on Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Consultation Paper on the Framework for Service Authorisations to be Granted Under the Telecommunications Act, 2023
nasscom’s Counter Comments on Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Consultation Paper on the Framework for Service Authorisations to be Granted Under the Telecommunications Act, 2023

September 2, 2024

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Nasscom had already submitted its feedback to the Consultation Paper on “The Framework for Service Authorisations to be Granted Under the Telecommunications Act, 2023” (Consultation Paper/Paper/CP) released by TRAI in July 2024. We also welcome the opportunity to provide counter comments on comments made by stakeholders on this Paper.

 

While reading the comments of other stakeholders, published by TRAI on the website, we noticed that some of the stakeholders have stated that Over the Top (OTT) entities be brought under Service Authorisation framework. Based on these, we submitted counter comments to TRAI stating the reason for not bringing OTTS under Service Authorisation.

 

We submitted that any additional regulatory intervention (like a licensing/ authorisation framework) will negate the advantages by imposing entry costs, increase the cost of service which could be passed on to consumers, and thereby stymy the virtuous economy OTTs are contributing to. The TSP market is an example of how burdensome regulation could result in limited consumer choice, with only two or three alternative service providers and high switching costs.

 

Our main submissions were:

  1. OTTs are not covered under the ambit of Telecommunications Act, 2023. There is no need to bring OTTs under Service Authorisation and impose any additional regulatory burden on them.

 

  1. OTTs are fundamentally different from telecommunication services and therefore, same service-same rule does not apply.

 

  1. OTTs and TSPs complement each other and do not compete.

 

  1. OTT service providers contribute immensely to the revenues generated by telecommunication service providers (TSPs).

 

  1. OTTs make substantial investments in complementary network infrastructure such as content delivery networks (CDNs), undersea cables, data centres and more. These investments help optimise the delivery of content through telecom networks, enabling cost savings and enhanced quality of service for TSPs and users.

 

  1. OTTs are adequately regulated in the country under various laws – for example, Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA), Competition Act, 2002and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

 

Please see the attachment for our detailed submission and recommendations. For more details, please write to Vertika Misra at: vertika@nasscom.in and Sudipto Banerjee at: sudipto@nasscom.inwith a copy to policy@nasscom.in.  


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20240816_nasscom_countercomments_serviceauthorisation.pdf

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Vertika Misra
Director - Public Policy

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