Telcos Say OTT Platforms Are Threat To National Security: Report As per the report, the companies sought a regulatory and a licensing regime for internet-based communications companies to ensure that they adhere to rules and guidelines of the country
By Teena Jose •
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Prominent telecom companies like Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea, on Wednesday, complained to telecom regulator TRAI that popular OTT platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook, Telegram, Instagram and Skype are a threat to national security, according to a TOI report.
As per the report, the companies sought a regulatory and a licensing regime for internet-based communications companies to ensure that they adhere to rules and guidelines of the country.
"When it comes to blackouts and outages, there are instances when services of platforms such as WhatsApp are down, but there are no questions asked from them. As telcos, we are held accountable for quality of services, and even other parameters related to consumer services," the telcos said in a statement.
The companies raised the issue in a meeting with Trai chairman P D Vaghela, the telcos – led by Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal and having senior officials from Jio, Vodafone Idea, Tata Tele and BSNL. According to them, while mobile companies are being subjected to stiff regulations such as lawful interception' and licensing norms, there are no such controls on OTT companies even though they increasingly account for a significant share of call and messaging traffic.
"Apart from getting an easy regulatory regime, the new-age internet companies that ride over their networks are also consuming their revenues, which is having an impact on network expansion plans and profitability," the statement added as per the report.
Signifying the part of being a threat to the society, the telecom companies put forward that most of the OTT platforms are app-based businesses, which are operating in India a 'near regulatory vaccum' having not much operational regulations from the side of the government.
