In this report, we outline what telcos Airtel, BSNL and Vodafone-Idea said about TRAI’s public consultation on the regulation of OTT services. OTT Service Providers are abbreviated to only OTTs in the report. Some of these points have been edited and paraphrased, while those quoted are as is from the submissions. ** Question 1: Which service(s) when provided by the OTT service provider(s) should be regarded as the same or similar to service(s) being provided by the TSPs. Please list all such OTT services with descriptions comparing it with services being provided by TSPs. Airtel (Q1 & Q2): Substitutability of services should be treated as the primary criterion for comparison of regulatory and licensing frameworks between TSPs and OTT service providers. Historically, voice and video calling and messaging services were provided only by TSPs, but high speed broadband has made it possible for OTTs to provide their services on mobile. Wants EU's definition of OTT services adopted in India Social media and gaming apps should not come under OTT because they're not substituting voice/video calling or messaging. Their category could be decided on a case to case basis. The definition of OTT should be flexible enough to bring in more substitutable services without “stifling any technological innovation”, periodically review the definition based on market evolution, tech developments, innovations and the extent of substitutability. BSNL OTT services providing Voice calls, Video calls, SMS, MMS, any messaging service and Audio/Video Conferencing services are regarded as similar to those being provided by traditional TSPs in…
