Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Jio, Vodafone Idea and BSNL in a meeting with communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday raised the issue of the exclusion of over-the-top (OTT) apps from the authorisation regime recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), sources said.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea also raised the issue of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues after the Supreme Court rejected their curative petitions on re-computation of the same.
The meeting was attended by Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal, Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra and BSNL chairman and managing director Robert J Ravi.
“Chaired a productive meeting with the stakeholder advisory committee of the telecommunication service providers (TSPs). Together, we discussed key issues related to enhancing customer satisfaction, streamlining processes and improving quality of service, thus ensuring connectivity, accessibility and affordability for all,” Scindia said in a post on X.
Trai last week recommended an authorisation regime for the sector as part of the Telecom Act to shift from the licensing framework. The regulator, however, did not address the demand of telecom operators to include OTT communication apps under the new regime.
Telecom operators have been demanding same rules for OTT apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, etc, as they provide calling and messaging services just like telcos.
Vodafone Idea talked about the impact of AGR on the company. Airtel, too, raised the AGR issue.
Scindia discussed the menace of pesky calls and SMSes with the telcos.
The minister also met representatives of telecom equipment makers such as Nokia, Ericsson and Dixon, among others, to talk about increasing local manufacturing of equipment.
