With more than 1.17 billion phone connections and 881 million internet subscribers, India aims to modernize connectivity and introduce new services such as satellite broadband just months before general elections. Congress passed a telecommunications bill that replaced the 100-year-old rule.
India’s upper house of parliament on Thursday approved the Telecommunications Bill 2023 by voice vote, with many opposition leaders absent due to suspension, just a day after the bill was passed by the lower house. The bill would repeal rules dating back to 1885 during the telegraph era, giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government a mandate to use and manage telecommunications services and networks in the interest of national security, and to It gives the authority to monitor data. There is also a basis for the Indian government to intercept communications.
A newly passed telecommunications bill also allows spectrum to be allocated to satellite-based services without participating in an auction, and OneWeb wants to launch satellite broadband services in the world’s most populous country. The move is to give preferential treatment to companies such as , Starlink, and Amazon’s Kuiper. A long-standing demand for a “management process” surrounding spectrum allocation auctions. India’s Jio is trying to compete with three global companies with its homegrown satellite broadband service, but has relatively limited resources and has previously faced administrative opposition to its spectrum allocation model. Ta.
The bill also requires biometric authentication for subscribers to limit fraud and limits the number of SIM cards each subscriber may use. Additionally, it includes provisions for civil monetary penalties of up to $12,000 for violations of certain provisions and up to $600,400 for violations of conditions established by law.
The bill includes amendments to the Indian Telecom Regulatory Authority Act, 1997, targeting the telecom regulator, as the Indian government seeks to attract foreign investors by increasing private participation. These amendments would allow executives with more than 30 years of private sector experience to be appointed to regulatory agency positions. The chairman can become a member if he or she has served for 25 years or more. The country previously allowed only retired civil servants to serve as chairmen and commissioners of regulators.
“This is a very comprehensive and very large-scale structural reform born out of the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. The legacy of old fraudsters in the telecom sector will remain and this bill Arrangements will be made to make the telecom sector a rising sector through this,” said Ashwini Vaishno, India’s Telecom Minister, while introducing the bill in Parliament.
Interestingly, the Telecommunications Bill excludes the term “OTT” that was used in the first draft last year, setting out regulations for over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram. . Industry groups such as the Internet and Mobile Association of India, whose members include Google and Meta, have praised the changes. However, the scope of the regulation is not clearly defined throughout the document. Shivnath Thukral, head of India public policy at Meta, warned in an internal email that the government may have the power in the future to classify OTT apps as telecommunications services and subject them to licensing regimes. report By Indian outlet Moneycontrol.
Digital rights activists and privacy advocates have also raised concerns about the ambiguity surrounding the regulations and the lack of public consultation on the final version of the bill.
Apal Gupta, founding director of the digital rights group Internet Freedom Foundation, said at a public event earlier this week that the bill lacks safeguards for those targeted.
“The Ministry of Telecommunications still refuses to create a central repository on internet shutdowns, thereby reducing transparency. We are completely ignoring the core of the required telecommunications rules.” he emphasized.
Digital rights group Access Now called for the bill to be withdrawn and a new draft to be drafted through consultation.
“This bill is regressive because it strengthens colonial-era governments’ powers to intercept communications and shut down the internet. It undermines end-to-end encryption, which is critical to privacy.” said Namrata Maheshwari, Asia-Pacific policy advisor at Access Now, in a prepared statement.
The bill is currently awaiting approval from the President of India to become an official law.
Source: techcrunch.com
