Net telephony stays free as law ministry rejects Trai proposal

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You can keep using the likes of Skype, Yahoo and MSN to make free international calls as the law ministry has rejected a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) proposal that foreign Internet telephony firms be made to register in India, seek permission from the department of telecommunications (DoT) and host their websites in the country.

Trai’s proposal last year was aimed at bringing these companies in the ambit of the country’s licensing framework and monitoring their activities. These recommendations were guided by the fact that foreign Internet firms did not pay any licence fee to the government like the licensed Internet service providers (ISPs) do.

The DoT subsequently sought the law ministry’s opinion whether mere registration could bring such companies under a licensing framework provided by the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. The DoT had asked whether overseas companies could be subjected to Indian laws for various purposes, including the licence fee.

According to sources, the law ministry had said registration of any company was not envisaged by the Indian Telegraph Act for operating telecom services.