India Unveils Landmark Telecommunications Bill
On December 21, 2023, the Parliament of India cleared the omnibus Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which seeks to replace three existing laws—two of them more than 100 years old—including the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950. The Bill, set to become law after the President’s assent, seeks to reform and simplify the regulatory and licensing regime for telecommunications, establish stringent requirements for user verification, and remove bottlenecks in creating telecom infrastructure.
Insights
- Currently, the telecom department issues dozens of licenses, registrations, and permissions. The Bill aims to streamline this by combining many of them into a single authorization process.
- The Bill introduces provisions for allocating spectrum to satellite internet providers. This is a big boost to industry stakeholders who have advocated for moving away from the bidding process to enhance accessibility to their services.
- Telecommunication services, loosely defined under the Bill as any telecommunication-related service, may extend to internet-based services, potentially involving regulation of online platforms. Industry stakeholders will need to await the government’s notification of specific rules.
- Press messages intended for publication in India and those from correspondents accredited to state or central governments are exempt from interception, with the exception of agencies mandated to intercept for reasons related to national security.
- Telecom service providers are mandated to carry out biometric authentication of their users as a measure to combat spam calls and curb fraud. The provision may lead to mandatory linking of citizens’ Aadhaar identity number to mobile phones.
Key Provisions of the Bill
- Center shall assign spectrum through auction, except for specified uses, where it will be allocated on an administrative basis.
- The central government is empowered to intercept telecom messages on specified grounds. It can order collection, analysis, and dissemination of traffic data that is generated, transmitted, received, or stored in telecommunication networks.
- The Bill empowers the government to prescribe standards and assessments for telecom equipment, infrastructure, networks, and services. It will have powers to suspend or ban use of telecom equipment from a country perceived to be a threat to national security.
- The Bill provides enhanced measures for protection of telecom services users. Telecom service providers are required to seek prior consent of users for receiving any message offering, advertising, or promoting goods and services. Additionally, providers must maintain a “Do Not Disturb” register.
- Possession of unauthorized equipment, or using unauthorized network or service, is punishable with a civil penalty of up to INR 10 lakh (~USD 12,000). There is also provision of a maximum civil penalty up to INR 10 crore (~USD 1.2 million) for breach of terms and conditions.
- The Bill includes provision for the appointment of an adjudicating officer (Joint Secretary or above) by the central government. The officer will be responsible for conducting inquiries and passing orders against civil offences under the Bill.
- The Bill allows private sector professionals to be appointed as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman and as members of the regulator.
Additional Background
India’s telecom industry is the world’s second largest with a subscriber base of 1.179 billion as of August 2023 (wireless + wireline subscribers). It is also the fourth largest sector in India in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, contributing 6% of the total influx. The total internet subscribers base hit over 865 million in October-December 2022. The wireless segment alone accounted for over 96% (~833 million) of the total telephone subscriptions in December 2022.
