COAI calls for regulatory parity between telecom operators and OTT platforms

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has expressed concerns that over-the-top (OTT) communication applications such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Skype, Google Chat, and Viber are not adequately addressing the issue of spam calls and texts on their platforms. As a result, COAI has advocated for these services to be regulated similarly to traditional telecom operators.

In response to the rising problem of spam, the government had earlier instructed service providers to block suspicious callers and blacklist telecallers who use OTT platforms or mobile apps to perpetrate scams, including those involving spoof calls.

This statement from COAI comes amid ongoing efforts by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to combat unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) and fraudulent messages, as well as voice and data calls.