It said on Monday that the industry body believes the telecommunication operators expect internet calling and messaging apps—WhatsApp, Google Meet, Telegram, etc.—to adhere to the rules in a manner that every service provider does.

The Cellular Operators Association of India has termed it misleading to ask for the exclusion of OTT communication apps from the Telecom Act, 2023; rather, they are governed by other rules as various non-regional rules are there on the telecom operators, too. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are its members.

While stating the due position, COAI would like to state, according to COAI Director General SP Kochar, 'security of the country' is of paramount importance, and in this regard, all communication service providers, including those relating to OTT-based communication services, shall adhere to the requisite instructions of the country as is done by the telecom service providers. He said that the infrastructure for lawful interception and monitoring had already been set up at a huge cost by the TSPs themselves.

Consequently, despite these investments, unregulated application-based communication services bypass this mechanism, by far the most serious security threat to the nation, said Kochhar.

He said exponential growth in OTT services and unregulated proliferation of communication services is creating a huge mix of security threats, and an uneven level playing field from the regulated and law-abiding service providers.

Some argue, she said, that OTT communication services per se should not be brought under the purview of the Telecom Act, 2023, as they are already trenched by legislations ranging from the IT Act, 2000, to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the DPDP Act, 2023.

This argument, according to Kochhar, is absolutely fallacious since the requirement purely relates to regulatory oversight of communications services explicitly covered under the Telecom Act, of 2023. It shall be pertinent to mention that TSPs, are controlled and regulated by the Telecom Act, are also subject to all the aforesaid laws laid down by the Parliament. It's a call by the telcos, who have been seeking a level playing field, wanting the government to apply the same rules applicable to them on calling and messaging apps.