WhatsApp and Skype should face similar regulations as us, Indian telcos tell government

Indian telcos have said that regulations for over-the-top (OTT) players such as WhatsApp and Skype, which provide communications services to their customers, need to be at par with the regulations that these telcos face.

The telcos have said that since these apps provide similar services such as voice calling, they should also be brought under the same regulation.

"It is an undisputed fact that VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) service offered by OCSPs (OTT communication service providers) is a substitute for services offered by telecom service providers (TSPs), " Rajan Mathews, director general at GSM industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), wrote in a letter that he addressed to TRAI.

"OCSPs offer these services without holding any licence in India, which is violative of the Indian Telegraph Act. The licensing and regulatory regime cannot allow a situation wherein the licensed entity (read: telcos) is treated at a lower footing than an unlicensed entity (read: OCSP)," COAI said.

The main issue here is that communication apps offer calling services to their customers at far lower rates, most of them being charged only for the data consumed. This takes a major share from the telcos' revenue, for which voice calls still account for around 80%.

If from telcos’ recommendation, these apps come under regulation, they would need to pay the same levies such as licence fee, spectrum charges, etc. and would also have to follow rules around security, lawful interception, quality of service, the cost of which would mean that the apps wouldn't be able to offer calling and messaging services for free.

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