In September 2022, the federal government of India got here up with a draft Indian Telecommunications Invoice, which basically consolidates three separate Acts that at present govern the telecommunications sector — the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; Indian Wi-fi Telegraphy Act, 1993; and Telegraph Wires (Illegal Possession) Act, 1950. The draft is within the public area for feedback.
The draft invoice says {that a} telecom licence can be issued for all companies included inside ‘telecommunication service’. However what’s ‘telecommunication service’?
The draft invoice defines it as “service of any description (together with broadcasting companies, piece of email, voice mail, voice, video and information communication companies, audiotex companies, videotex companies, mounted and cellular companies, web and broadband companies, satellite-based communication companies, internet-based communication companies, in-flight and maritime connectivity companies, interpersonal communications companies, machine-to-machine communication companies, over-the-top (OTT) communication companies) which is made accessible to customers by telecommunication, and consists of some other service that the Central Authorities could notify to be telecommunication companies”.
Consultants have identified that the utilization ‘service of any description’ is problematic. Rajiv Ok Luthra, head of Luthra and Luthra Legislation Workplaces India, notes that the inclusion of companies like piece of email, voice mail and interpersonal communications companies is “a novel introduction to the licensing framework”. This, he says, will lead to over-regulation and difficulties in implementation.
The definition of ‘telecommunication service’ is extraordinarily broad, and consists of OTT communication companies like WhatsApp, e-mail and video calling companies equivalent to MS Groups. Such companies would require a licence. This seems to be a step backwards, in line with Mini Raman and Angelina Talukdar of the legislation agency LexOrbis.
In an article in Mondaq, they be aware that whereas the invoice intends to seize futuristic applied sciences, its drafting is “very ambiguous and very broad”.
The Indian telecom business, which has a subscriber base of 1.17 billion, supplies direct jobs to 2.2 million and oblique jobs to 1.8 million. Additionally it is a serious attraction for overseas direct funding. Nonetheless, the business is going through challenges when it comes to declining ‘common income per consumer’, low broadband penetration and restricted spectrum availability. At this stage, the business can’t afford to be over-regulated. If companies equivalent to OTT communication and e-mail companies require authorities licences then it might not solely influence their enterprise and profitability but additionally elevate compliance prices.
Luthra recommends defining ‘telecommunication companies’ as people who fall throughout the ambit of telecommunications and never internet-based.
“Merely as a result of communication is happening between two entities doesn’t imply it’s telecommunication in nature,” he says. Since totally different applied sciences are concerned, they need to be regulated individually, he provides. The draft invoice makes the transition to a brand new regime “needlessly sophisticated and burdensome”, he says.
Raman and Talukdar name for “a whole overhaul and re-examination” of the invoice.