The landmark Telecommunications Bill, which was passed by Parliament recently, has received the President’s assent. The Telecommunications Act, 2023 that’s set to make the sector investor-friendly, puts user protection first while extending powers to the government to intercept communications.
While it excludes from its ambit broadcasting, and over-the-top services such as WhatsApp and Telegram, it cements rules for spectrum allocation and provides for a non-auction route for assigning airwaves for satellite-based communication services, PTI reports.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, was presented in the Lok Sabha on December 18, following the conclusion of the consultation process for its 2022 counterpart. The legislation – which allows the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security – was cleared by the Lok Sabha on December 20, and by Rajya Sabha on December 21.
Read More: Should OTT players be worried about The Telecom Bill, 2023?
“The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 24th December, 2023 and is hereby published for general information…,” according to a gazette notification.
“It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the commencement of that provision,” the notification said.
Stakeholders in the OTT space expressed concerns about whether the new legislation goes beyond just overhauling of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, and The Telegraph Wire (Unlawful Protection) Act, 1950.