There is a need to ensure a level playing field among all technologies, that is Same Service Same Rules with respect to OTT Communication Services so that fair and healthy competition prevails in the industry,” COAI said in a press statement.
Gunning for a level playing field, telecom body, the cellular operators association of India (COAI), has made a fervent pitch for regulation of the OTT apps. Citing ‘same service, same rules’, the industry body has said that regulatory conditions and treatment ought to be uniformly applicable for similarly placed players.
“…there is a need to ensure a level playing field among all technologies, that is Same Service Same Rules with respect to OTT Communication Services so that fair and healthy competition prevails in the industry,” COAI said in a press statement.
The intense lobbying is part of a renewed effort by telecom operators to increase pressure on the government to regulate the space which includes WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram. Welcoming the inclusion of OTT apps in the draft telecom bill, COAI called on the authorities to define OTT communication services in the proposed Act to avoid any ambiguity.
Lashing out at OTT players, the industry body also said that services such as voice and video calls provided by both telcos and apps operate on the network layer. It also said that telecom operators had to invest heavily in networks and undergo spectrum allocation processes to offer such services.
“OTTs, on the other hand, are free from any of these obligations, but enjoy all the privileges of delivering the same services, without having to bear any of the regulatory obligations, security obligations, investment or network requirements… This seriously dents the level playing field in the market,” added COAI.
Training guns at OTT communication apps, the association claimed that such OTT apps rode on telcos’ networks and did not pay any levies in terms of license fees and other charges, causing ‘loss to the Government exchequer.’
