Action comes after demands from telecom companies
Picture for representational purpose
New Delhi:Trai chairman Rahul Khullar said the regulator will invite views of public on issues related to roll out of broadband in the country by end of next month. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is also planning to issue a consultation paper to discuss regulatory framework around Over-The-Top (OTT) players like WhatsApp, Sky-pe, Viber, WeChat, etc.
The OTT players facilitate free calls and messaging services, making it affordable for consumers to use them. Telecom subscribers are required to pay only internet charges to their operators for using OTT services.
Mr Khullar was speaking on the sidelines of a telecom summit organised by Assocham. As per the process, Trai consults public before framing any recommendation for a new sectoral policy.
The regulator then sends its recommendations to government for policy formulation.
After this, it is the government’s prerogative whether to form a policy or new rule based on Trai’s recommendation. Telecom operators have been pushing for a regulatory framework around OTT players as they see applications like Skype, WhatsApp, Viber etc as competitors who are cutting telecos revenues in voice call and messaging segment.
At global level, internet-based companies have been opposing any move that can make access to online services expensive or put any restrain on flow of information over the internet.
The Trai chairman said that a consultation paper would be issued on broadband by end of next month. He clarified that the paper will be around issues related to rollout of broadband services in the country.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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