A Level Playing Field

War on spam calls for players to stop sparring and work together

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In the war on spam calls and messages, telecom companies have raised their pitch against regulatory norms while seeking a level playing field in the compliance burden. Telcos, through the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), have argued that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has unfairly kept delivery telemarketers and over-the-top (OTT) communication companies out of the ambit of its regulations. There's merit in this argument even as OTTs and telemarketing firms fall in a grey area that is traditionally not covered by Trai. However, with the technology leapfrogging and the definition of communication changing rapidly, Trai should be given the powers to regulate OTTs such as WhatsApp and Telegram, which are being significantly used for sending messages as well as making calls. The Telecom Bill does not clarify whether OTT platforms fall outside the regulatory oversight of the telecom ecosystem.