Two years after India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sought views on the need for overhauling laws governing the telecommunications sector (and nearly 75 years after the last relevant legislation of the sector) India has a new, updated Telecom Act. It came into effect on 26 June.
The Telecommunications Act 2023 (the year refers to when it was introduced rather than when it became law), replaces a number of earlier laws, including the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and the Indian Wireless Act 1933.
It’s clearly an understatement to say that technology has changed a lot since then. At the very least, many definitions and terms are completely different, but provisions for spectrum allocation and right of way also needed looking at, along with regulations related to ease of doing business and penalties for offences and non-compliance.
Which seems to be what has happened. As India’s Economic Times points out, there is now a simple regulatory framework. The licensing regime has been replaced with an authorisation mechanism. Right of way rules (a big problem a few years ago) have been updated.
There’s a clearly defined framework for spectrum assignment, including efficient spectrum utilisation, and an adjudication mechanism to resolve disputes before they go to law.
There are also provisions to take necessary measures for national security and public safety. In particular the Act confers power on the government to take temporary possession of telecom networks during public emergencies, including natural disasters. In addition there is now a framework for blocking and interception.
Obviously there’s a lot more to this legislation: there are 11 chapters and 62 sections in the new Act. But the long wait before its arrival makes it clear that legal frameworks are in danger of being left behind by telecoms in some territories.
Indeed, operator Cameroon Telecoms (Camtel) recently suggested that the country’s parliament needs to reform outdated legislation and provide a robust legal framework for the country's digital economy.
Some legislators clearly agree. Tellingly, Bara Julien, president of the Parliamentary Network for Information and Communication Technologies, is quoted as saying: “Our telecoms laws are obsolete as they date back to many years. But the evolution of technology is constant.”
It's a point that could be made in many markets with outdated telecommunications laws. How quickly will they respond?
