Welcoming the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) comprehensive Consultation Paper on 'Regulatory Framework for Over-The-Top (OTT) Services,' apex industry body Assocham has reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with both the Authority and the Government for bridging the huge digital divide in respect of internet access and usage thereby securing digital inclusion together with innovation and fair competition for all.
''The manner of treatment of this new segment of OTT services in respect of applicable policy and regulation would play a crucial part in how effectively the country improves its extremely low position in ICT Development (Rank 129 out of a total of 163 countries and placed in the category of Least Connected Countries) and gains a more respectable global position in this regard,” noted a detailed response of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) to the TRAI’s consultation paper.
“There are great opportunities as well as challenges arising from the recent advent of OTT services, however significant consumer benefits need to be fully exploited, serious challenges as regards loss of revenues to the Government, privacy and security implications, threat to infrastructure from non-level playing field and other such factors need to be addressed most expeditiously,” said Mr T.V. Ramachandran, chairman of Assocham National Council on Telecommunications while addressing a press conference jointly with chamber’s secretary general, D.S. Rawat.
“The Consultation is therefore most timely and it would be appropriate to take regulatory cognizance of the issues involved at the early nascent stage itself before the situation spirals out of control,” said the Assocham’s Telecom Committee chief.
In order to provide maximum impetus to innovation, the regulatory intervention must be minimal and such that it does not stifle innovation in this sunrise segment, further noted the Assocham response to TRAI.
Assocham recommends that proposed regulatory framework should be strongly guided by the following factors:
1. The goals of our National Telecom Policy as regards universal connectivity, affordability and broadband availability.
2. Our current socio-demographic status and constraints.
3. Our need for enormous investments of over Rs 5 lakh crores over the next 5 years for creating infrastructure to bridge the digital divide.
4. Our Vision of Digital India as contrasted with the current state of ICT Development vis-à-vis comparable nations.
5. Ensuring level-playing field for all and avoidance of discrimination between players i.e. ‘Same Service-Same Rules.’
6. Assocham believes that most OTT applications are evolved form of VAS and that there could be regulatory learnings from the light-touch regulation of the TSP/ VAS eco-system that has been functioning fairly smoothly for many years now.
7. Assocham believes that traffic management is a tool for consumer benefit and not for consumer harm and should be permitted to help network operators to maintain and improve the quality of service provided to end users.
8. It should also be noted that prioritization is a core aspect of internet technology right from its earliest days and different types of services like e-mail versus IP telephony versus video versus PPDR (Public Protection and Disaster Relief) services have different QOS and speed requirements for the desired end-user Quality of Experience.
9. Assocham firmly believes that India urgently needs Net Neutrality but one that is optimized for the maximum welfare of its citizens keeping in mind our own constraints and state of digital development. It would be retrograde for India’s economic development and harmful to our citizens to impose a Westernised Version of Net Neutrality and thereby damage our vision of Digital India. The urgent need of the hour is an Indian version of Net Neutrality.
