View: To connect telecom to the 21st century

GoI’s attempt to contemporise and consolidate telecommunications laws stretching back to the 19th century is a welcome development for the evolution of a core sector of the 21st century. The legal underpinnings had become frayed but were kept alive through a patchwork of amendments in response to the technological changes in telecom. It is time India moved away from ad-hoc legislation that has affected the investment scenario for the backbone of its digital economy. The Telecommunications Bill, 2022, is a component of the overall digital regulatory framework in the making, which dilutes some of the criticism it has faced about overreach. Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has clarified the draft Bill seeks to regulate communications services provided by OTT players to protect users on the lines permitted by existing laws and court rulings on interception. It also seeks to level the field on revealed identity of callers across voice and data platforms.