Government to wait and see on telcos’ demand that OTTs pay ‘usage fee’

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says 5G coverage targets were ahead of schedule

Minister for Railways, Communications, and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday weighed in on telecom companies’ demand that over-the-top (OTT) communications apps pay a “usage fee” to operators because of how much traffic the latter carry for them on their networks. 

“There is a global movement, a global discussion [on OTT apps], lots and lots of regulatory changes are happening in the entire world,” Mr. Vaishnaw said. “Telecom is an industry where everything is benchmarked to the world. Whatever we do will be in sync with the global trends.”

Mr. Vaishnaw was speaking at a press conference announcing India winning the GSM Association’s GLOMO Award for Government Leadership at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Mr. Vaishnaw credited the award, given to one country annually for “world-class leadership in the establishment of sound telecommunications regulatory policies,” to the government’s role in transforming the telecom sector.

Also read: Towards transparency in OTT regulation

Mr. Vaishnaw said a goal to cover at least 200 districts with 5G technology had been finished earlier than the promised date of March 31. “As of today, India has covered 387 districts with 5G coverage with 1 lakh BTSs [base stations],” he said. “85% of [telecom tower] permissions are happening instantaneously.”

On the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, which was published for public comments last year, the IT Minister said the government wanted to pass it by the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The Bill “will bring about major significant reform[s],” Mr. Vaishnaw said. “We’re working on all the inputs we have received from various Ministries, stakeholders, industry participants, global bodies, and other regulators in this sector” like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. 

On making those inputs publicly available, Mr. Vaishnaw said, “Even before we published the first draft [of the Bill], we published a pre-consultation paper. Based on that paper, we came out with the first draft. Then, lots and lots of inputs were received. On the basis of those inputs, we’re doing another draft. That draft, before we go to Parliament, it will all be visible to you.”