Indian Telecom Operators have urged TRAI to bring regulation to regulate the Internet mobile application like WhatsApp, Skype and others.
TV Ramachandra, telecom industry veteran while speaking at seminar organised by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on “Regulatory Framework for OTT services” said, “We want some kind of regulatory help to get a level playing field. There are so many regulations binding on us but the same don’t exist for OTT players. We can do a lot more if level playing field is given to us.”
Currently, these apps have become very popular amongst mobile users by running on telecom bandwidth without being connected to the telecom industry. They offer free messaging across any telecom network in India, resulting in losses to telcos.
According to telecom industry estimates, telcos currently lose around Rs 5,000 crore annually due to these free apps and the figure is expected to cross Rs 16,400 crore in the next two years, as mobile subscribers using smartphone with internet are growing rapidly.
The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) president CS Rao said that though OTT players provide services that mobile service providers offer but there is no rule to ensure that they provide quality service to customers. Also, they have no commitment on customer service, he alleged.
“Major regulatory realignment is needed when consumers are moving from minutes usage to megabyte usage era. I want TRAI to note issue of stressed capacity of network. If 20 per cent of our customers start using OTT service, then burden on network will increase $ 55 per subscriber,” Mr Rao said.
Meanwhile, TRAI said that the event was to understand the eco-system for OTT services with respect to current regulatory environment after telecom service provider (TSPs) approached it on several occasions.
TRAI on 5th August has organize a seminar on “Regulatory Framework for OTT Services”. The aim of the seminar is to provide a platform to exchange the views on key issues related to OTT such as new developments in OTT, impact of OTT on TSPs and their counter measures, legal and regulatory framework for OTT. Eminent experts in this field and representative from the industry will take part in the seminar.
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/national-news/item/5641-telecom-operators-urges-trai-to-regulate-whatsapp-and-others.html
No comments:
Post a Comment