Indian telcos demand same treatment as OTTs lightreading.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lightreading.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Synopsis
COAI, which represents telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, said that apps don’t have any obligation to ensure privacy, while telcos need to adhere to strict conditions on confidentiality and protection of privacy of communication.
Getty Images
Carriers have cited examples around data privacy and lawful interception among several others to point out the absence of a level playing field.
Mumbai: Telcos have cited WhatsApp’s recent privacy policy changes as an example of how over-the-top (OTT) communication players, or apps, have no obligation to ensure privacy of consumers, while underlining the need to regulate such entities to bring them on par with carriers which offer similar services but are bound by licence norms.
COAI, whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea etc, wrote to the telecom department on February 9 in response to the recommendation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on OTT players that no regulations should be imposed on the calling and messaging apps till the time clarity emerges in the international jurisdictions.
The slow progress in India has raised fears that 5G will tread the same path as its predecessors 2G, 3G and 4G, which were delayed by 4 years, 10 years and 7 years respectively, as compared to its global execution.