Trai excludes OTTs like WhatsApp, Telegram from licensing regime overhaul

Three broad categories of telecommunication service authorisations proposed in move to streamline rules

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has excluded communication over-the-top (OTT) services such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram from its new recommendations on authorisation or licensing regimes.

As part of the overhaul of the existing telecom service licensing regime, Trai on Wednesday unveiled detailed recommendations, which does not mention OTTs.

Tech and startup industry bodies have been at loggerheads with telecom operators on efforts to bring OTTs under a licensing regime which would have opened them up to taxation.

Instead, Trai has outlined three broad categories of authorisations - Main service authorisations, Auxiliary service authorisations, and Captive service authorisations, which will cover the gamut of telecom services in the country. The new service authorisation guideline is part of an overhaul of the licensing regime in line with the new Telecom Act, 2023.

Under the new framework, 'Unified Service Authorisation' has been introduced to achieve the objective of 'One Nation - One Authorisation' across services and service areas.

An entity holding this authorization can provide mobile service, internet service, broadband service, landline telephone service, long distance service, satellite communication service, Machine to Machine (M2M) and internet of Things (IoT) service on a pan India basis. These entities will have complete flexibility for routing its domestic traffic.

A new authorisation, 'Satellite-based Telecommunication Service Authorisation' has been proposed for commercial satellite services, merging the erstwhile VSAT-CUG service and GMPCS licenses.

Satellite-based telecom providers will also be permitted to utilize the satellite earth station gateways established in India for servicing foreign countries, after obtaining government permission.

The regulator has also asked the government to provide a glide path leading to financial accounting and reporting, assignment of numbering resources, assignment of spectrum at a National level for Unified Service authorised entities.