Mumbai: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) appealed to the Government of India to classify platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram as illegitimate channels for business communications. This pertains to the use of time-sensitive one-time authentication codes required for device access and transaction validation.
The industry association (COAI) representing India’s three major telecom companies- Reliance Jio, Bharti Artel, and Vodafone Idea, accused global giants like Microsoft and Amazon of seemingly evading the legal telecom route. This practice is allegedly resulting in an annual revenue loss of approximately INR 3000 crores for both service providers as well as for the government.
According to a report, the size of business SMS for Indian telecom companies in 2022-23 was Rs. 2500 crores. Interestingly, over-the-top (OTT) platforms now leverage telcos internet service to offer free calling and messaging, which were previously fee-based. Before the launch of OTT, domestic business communications were charged INR 0.13 per SMS, while international messages costed INR4-4.5 each. This means voice calls and messaging were significant revenue sources for telecom companies.
COAI also emphasized that if these practices are not curbed, it may encourage gray and uncontrolled methods as they pose a threat to national security. Domestic companies have demanded from Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav to regularize such communication apps by increasing the limit of telecom services in the upcoming Telecom Bill.
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