Recently, the Lok Sabha proposed hefty amendments to The Telecommunications Bill, 2023.
This is learned to be the first lengthiest mulling on the existing telecommunications law in 138 years.
The new telecommunication bill aims to consolidate spectrum, right of way, and dispute resolution in an active an instant manner. The new Telecommunication Bill is known to replace the Telegraph Act of 1885.
The Bill opens the door for spectrum allotments to satellite internet providers such as Bharti-backed OneWeb and US-based firms, including SpaceX’s Starlink. However, only OneWeb and Jio have been granted active satellite authorisations. After the law’s passage, administrative allotments of the spectrum will have to be held separately before these firms can begin operations. The issue of assigning spectrum administratively versus requiring open auctions for satellite firms had divided domestic and international players in the past reports a few mainstream print media houses.
Instead of the licensing regime of the past, the new Bill text refers only to ‘authorisations’ that will have to be obtained by telecom operators and other providers of telecom services, which have been defined as the “transmission… of any messages, by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems, whether or not… subjected to rearrangement, computation or other processes”. A person familiar with the thinking behind the Bill insisted that it would not extend to online services like WhatsApp. Authorisations are also required for setting up a telecom network, and for “possession of radio equipment”.
The Bill requires telecom customers to undergo “biometric authentication”, the form of which will be notified later. The person familiar with the thinking behind the Bill said that this was put in place to curb the menace of spam calls and messages.
Sharing his pivotal views on the new The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, P Balaji, Chairman, ASSOCHAM National Digital Communication Council, noted, “The Telecom Bill is yet another landmark moment in the telecom reforms process. The Bill demonstrates the unrelenting focus of the Government in driving investments and putting India among the leading nations in the Digital Revolution. The bill is citizen centric, easy to understand and provides for a framework that will balance regulation and innovation. It will accelerate infrastructure deployment and ease the complex ROW processes. It will also ensure that secure and resilient telecom networks are put in place.”
“The Bill, once converted into an Act, will provide a broad framework and future fit rules can be prescribed from time to time to address the continuous evolution of technology and innovation adds P Balaji.”
The Bill folds in many of the amendments and structures that telecom regulation and administration have accumulated in the decades since the Telegraph Act passed.
