While supporting net neutrality and firmly holding that access should be made available to all on a non-discriminatory manner, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has said that there is a need to evolve the regulatory framework for Over The Top (OTT) communication services to prevent various regulatory imbalances between the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and the OTT communication players.
It is response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) consultation paper on OTT, COAI has said a “common regulatory framework for businesses providing the same services is the need of the hour and will benefit all players as it will reduce legal ambiguity and prevent unnecessary litigations.”
At the outset, COAI said it welcomed the entry of OTT players and believes that they play an important role and offer many new services. However, the body added that, “it is pertinent to note that some of the services that are offered by the OTT players such as messaging/instant messaging and VOIP telephony are perfect substitutes of the services that can be offered by the telcos. These OTT players have rightly been classified by the Authority as "OTT Communication Services" players and their services are in direct competition with the licensed communication services offered by the TSPs.”
The COAI wants not only net neutrality, but also net equality - the need to connect the one billion citizens of India, who are still not connected to the internet, by facilitating an open, inclusive and affordable access to the Internet, and with the same rules being made applicable to the same services.
http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/ott-services/telcos-support-net-neutrality-but-root-for-checks-on-ott-platforms-150516
It is response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) consultation paper on OTT, COAI has said a “common regulatory framework for businesses providing the same services is the need of the hour and will benefit all players as it will reduce legal ambiguity and prevent unnecessary litigations.”
At the outset, COAI said it welcomed the entry of OTT players and believes that they play an important role and offer many new services. However, the body added that, “it is pertinent to note that some of the services that are offered by the OTT players such as messaging/instant messaging and VOIP telephony are perfect substitutes of the services that can be offered by the telcos. These OTT players have rightly been classified by the Authority as "OTT Communication Services" players and their services are in direct competition with the licensed communication services offered by the TSPs.”
The COAI wants not only net neutrality, but also net equality - the need to connect the one billion citizens of India, who are still not connected to the internet, by facilitating an open, inclusive and affordable access to the Internet, and with the same rules being made applicable to the same services.
http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/ott-services/telcos-support-net-neutrality-but-root-for-checks-on-ott-platforms-150516
