Setting the stage for an overhaul of the existing telecom service licensing regime, Trai yesterday recommended three broad categories of telecommunication service authorisations — main service authorisations, auxiliary service authorisations, and captive service authorisations — but does not explicitly mention OTT.

A PTI report from New Delhi said that under the new authorisation framework, ‘Unified Service Authorisation’ has been introduced to achieve the objective of ‘One Nation – One Authorisation’ across services and service areas.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which released recommendations on the ‘Framework for Service Authorisations to be Granted Under the Telecommunications Act, 2023’ yesterday, said the government should grant service authorisation under the new Telecommunications Act, 2023 instead of entering into an agreement with the entity.

The new service authorisation framework left out OTT from its ambit, while proposing that commercial ‘VSAT-CUG service’ and ‘GMPCS’ are merged in a single ‘satellite-based telecommunication service authorisation’.

Such an authorisation should be a concise document, and the terms and conditions for a service authorisation should be prescribed through the rules to be notified under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.

Under the new authorisation framework, Commercial VSAT-CUG service and GMPCS have been merged in a single authorisation — ‘Satellite-based Telecommunication Service Authorisation’.

“The extant restriction on VSAT operators to provide services to only closed user group (CUG) has been removed under the new authorisation framework. Both VSAT based FSS and GMPCS service have been included under the scope of satellite-based Telecommunication Service Authorisation,” Trai said.

Explaining the distinction between the three categories of authorisations (main, auxiliary and captive) recommended, Trai said the main service authorisations cover all primary telecom services such as access services, internet services, long distance services, satellite-based telecommunication services and M2M WAN services.

Auxiliary service authorisations, on the other hand, include all other existing service authorisations (other than captive services), which are in general provided to the enterprise users and not to public at large and have very light touch regulatory oversight,” it said.

This includes services such as PMRTS, PM-WANI, M2M Service and M2M service and WPAN/ WLAN connectivity service, enterprise communication services, IFMC, data communication service between aircraft and ground stations, etc.

“Each service authorisation will be governed by different terms and conditions which has to prescribed through different rules for each service authorisation,” it said.

Further, the entry fee for different service authorisations have been significantly reduced, which is expected to open the doors for new service providers, drive fresh investments, and boost competition within the telecom market, Trai said.

Meanwhile, a press statement from TRAI on its website added that its Chairman Anil Lahoti felicitated officers of TRAI for their exemplary service in expeditious completion in preparation of recommendation on ‘Framework for Service Authorisations to be granted under the Telecommunications Act 2023’.

The officers felicitated includeShri S.B. Singh, Principal Advisor; S.T. Abbas, Principal Advisor; D. Manoj, Principal Advisor; Akhilesh Trivedi, Advisor; Abdul Kayum, Advisor; Amit Sharma, Advisor; Sanchit Garg, Joint Advisor; Sishir Kansal, Joint Advisor; Lt. Col. Santanu Das, Joint Advisor; Lt. Col. Pranav Mohotra, Joint Advisor; Lt. Col. Rabindra Bhandari, Joint Advisor; Rachna Mathur, Joint Advisor; Manmohan Vyas, Joint Advisor; Sonia Madan, Deputy Advisor; Meetu Gulati, Deputy Advisor; Omendra Kumar Govind, Senior Research Officer; A.L. Ramesh, Senior Research Officer; Subha Sinha, Senior Research Officer and Aparna Vats, Senior Research Officer.