Revised telecom draft to clear air on OTT, DTH

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is likely to unveil a revised draft of the telecommunications bill in less than a month, to address issues raised by the ministry of information and broadcasting and others around regulating content of over-the-top (OTT) apps and broadcasting services such as direct-to-home (DTH).

Government officials told ET that DoT, in the revised telecom bill draft, will clearly state that its aim is to regulate only communication apps that give the same services as telecom operators. This will remove any ambiguity around the category of apps that DoT will regulate.

The absence of any specific definition of apps in the current draft raised concerns that all types of apps - including streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar as well as food aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato - may be regulated by the telecom department. The I&B ministry also raised concerns on inclusion of broadcasting services as part of telecommunication services in the current draft bill.

According to this draft, broadcasting service is defined as a telecommunication service intended to be received by the general public, either directly or indirectly.



Schedule 2
Further, under Schedule 2 of the draft bill, broadcasting services - including DTH, community radio stations, uplinking and downlinking of TV channels, IPTV services and FM radio broadcasting services through private agencies - have been listed as entities requiring licences.

This has given rise to apprehensions that DoT is seeking to encroach on the powers of the ministry that regulates broadcasting services. Officials said the I&B ministry had raised the issues with the telecom department while sharing its comments on the draft.

Content, Broadcasting Not Included

DoT officials said relevant clauses will be modified to bring in clarity. "The revised bill will clearly define which aspect of broadcast services - those using a telecom network - will be regulated. Other types of broadcasting services such as DTH and TV channels will be excluded," one of the officials said. Industry bodies such as Broadband India Forum and Internet and Mobile Association of India too had demanded that content and broadcasting be kept outside the purview of the telecom bill.

OTT Communication Apps

While issues around broadcasting and content OTTs have been resolved, DoT is still deliberating the framework to regulate OTT communication apps such as WhatsApp and Signal. Officials say the department is yet to take a call on whether these apps would require a licence or merely a registration. Minister for communications Ashwini Vaishnaw previously told ET that DoT would opt for a "light touch" regulatory framework for such apps and not seek to maximise government revenue.