Gen Z OTT’s Bleak Future And Defunct TRAI In Amritkaal: Draft Telecommunication Bill, 2022

Komal Rathee, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab

ABSTRACT

Telecommunications are at the center of the global world. India has taken a major step towards the development of telecom sector with the introduction of “Draft Telecommunication Bill, 2022”. The bill expands the definition of ‘telecommunication services’ to include the OTT communication services even when they don’t operate a telecom network, as a response to the demand for ‘same service, same rules’. The bill divests the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) of its major powers to manage tariffs, quality regulation standards, and dispute resolution mechanism and confers exclusive and arbitrary powers in the hands of the government. The licensing provisions and user identification mandates for OTT service providers will have detrimental consequences on the user base and finances which are already being regulated by IT Rules issued in 2021. Without a data protection mechanism in place and a fully autonomous body for close supervision, the provision for interception of messages is concerning. The government should recognize the distinctive operative mechanisms for OTT, thus, exclude them from the definition. Also, TRAI’s important status should be maintained to ensure the growth of the telecom market.