TRAI Wants To Tame OTTs With Licenses & Regulations; Net Neutrality Is At Threat In India

“The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change -” Heraclitus

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Telecom firms in India are so much afraid of “Over the Top (OTTs)” players that they want to tame them with licenses and regulations. It seems that the fear is now not merely of revenues, but of their existence and survival.

Last week, TRAI published a consultation paper on “Regulatory Framework for Over-The-Top (OTT) Services”, where in they have put 20 solid questions infront of the general public, and sought their views on licenses and Net Neutrality.

Incase, you want to know who are OTTs, they are referred to as the ones who deliver of audio, video, and other media over the Internet without the involvement of a multiple-system operator in the control or distribution of the content. [Wiki]

Here is how Internet has been classified according to TRAI. Check OTT communication and OTT media.

Last year, when Telecom firms requested TRAI to include new charges and fees from OTT players, the idea was rejected. But now, it seems that after the expensive spectrum auctions, where telecom players committed billions of dollars, it seems that the ghost of licenses and regulations have come back to haunt us.

Last year we had reported that in case TRAI induces 8% licensing fees, then there can be an overall increase of 30% in Internet traffic.

Why TRAI Is Scared?

In the consultation paper, it is mentioned that in 2013, Skype carried 214 billion minutes of International Calls within their worldwide network. This is almost 40% of the global telecom market, and within this year, Skype will actually overtake the traditional telecom firms in International calls usage.

TRAI said, “With innovations in OTT services, Full-HD voice is slowly becoming a reality for customers all over the world. The call quality of Skype and Google Voice is improving rapidly and, in some markets, nearly matches that of a circuit switched call,”

TRAI, on behalf of telecom firms have said that OTTs are single handedly eating their revenues using their platform, and they want to implement licenses and regulations to milk money from OTTs.

Some other stats shared by TRAI in this paper:

As on January 2015, WhatsApp had 700 million users, all over the world and 30 billion messages were sent on a daily basis

In 2011, Blackberry had 50 million users who sent 100 billion+ messages daily

SMS traffic in India has dropped from 5346 million in 2013 to 4367 million by 2014 end, a drop of 18.3%

TRAI added, “The user base of OTT messaging services has grown to more than one billion in less than five years, impacting TSPs and other service providers all over the world. This impact has also been felt in India.”

On one hand, this is an open acknowledgment of the improvement in technology but also, on the other hand, its an SOS about the future of telecom in India. And the statements aptly reflects their fear.

Glimpse of a Future With Licenses & Regulations for OTTs & Internet Companies?

In case TRAI is able to pull this through, and implement these licenses and regulations on OTT players, then imagine some scenarios:

You need to check your email while using Google hangout? Buy another plan from your telecom service provider (TSP)

Your favorite free Chess app wants to add chat facility in their app. They will need to take a license for that feature

A new cricket app wants to start real time video chat with players. Wait a second.. have they taken the license?

Want to make a call using Skype on your phone? Buy a new plan with 7 day validity

Youtube will open superfast on Reliance but Dailymotion will take ages to open as Youtube has paid Reliance some extra money

and many more such examples….but you get the point

This last example is not mere a fiction but had nearly become a reality when Airtel started offering different plans and tariff for different websites and apps, which is totally against Net Neutrality which states that all Internet services should be provided without any discrimination.

All Internet and Mobile users are informed that they need to send in their replies latest by April 24, 2015 by emailing at [email protected]. The last date for counter comments is May 8th, 2015.

[box type=”shadow” ]If you do care about the freedom which Internet brings, and if you are concerned about saving the Net Neutrality and Indiscriminate access of tools and services using the web, then do send in your replies of all the 20 questions by mailing TRAI at [email protected].[/box]

Here are the 20 Questions that TRAI is seeking answers for…