OTTs and insolvency clause out of final draft of Telecom Bill

The final version of the Telecommunications Bill 2023, which will be tabled in the ongoing session of the Parliament, has likely removed the regulation of over-the-top (OTT) communication apps from its ambit, according to a version of the Bill.

Officials said the same may have happened because currently OTTs come under the ambit of the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) and in order to avoid any conflict, the same has been removed from the Bill. The Bill has also kept the definition of telecommunication services open ended. Under the final version, “telecommunication service” means any service for telecommunication.

The previous version had defined telecommunication services as a service of any description (including broadcasting services, electronic mail, voice mail etc. Further, the department of telecommunications has also likely dropped the provisions relating to insolvency of telecom operators and defaults in payment of licence fee.

The government is also expected to change the name of the Universal Services Obligation Fund to Digital Bharat Nidhi. Among other changes, the government has made the provision of appointment of an adjudicating officer and designated appeals committee to deal with adjudication of certain contraventions of the Bill.

Further, the Bill under the chapter on Standards, Public Safety, National Security, also gives the government powers to notify standards and conformity assessment measures in respect of cyber security for telecom services and encryption and data processing in telecommunication. Financial Express