Question 1: Is it too early to establish a regulatory framework for OTT services, since internet penetration is still evolving, access speeds are generally low and there is limited coverage of high-speed broadband in the country? Or, should some beginning be made now with a regulatory framework that could be adapted to changes in the future? Please comment with justifications.
OTT Services have evolved over a period of time based on availability of technology. At a time when India used Dial Up internet at 56kpbs speed, VoIP would not be an acceptable standard for voice communications. The constant development of technologies for delivering internet to users will keep evolving new OTT Services which would rapidly need changes to regulatory frameworks. Creating such a framework and then changing it in the future would be waste of public money. However, defining a set of principles that outline priorities between conflicting stands of the OTT Services, ISPs and the end users, which need not be changed frequently would be more fruitful.

Question 2: Should the OTT players offering communication services (voice, messaging and video call services) through applications (resident either in the country or outside) be brought under the licensing regime? Please comment with justifications.
Voice, Video and Messages transferred over the Internet are essentially digital signals. With the current state of technology, it's fairly easy to start a messaging service. Email itself is a form of messaging services and due to the digital nature of such products, it can be very difficult to regulate. The cost of regulation and enforcement itself can be very high. Such OTT services. Rather than equating OTT Communication services with Telephony Services - consider OTT Communication services akin to using Postal Services, delivered via highways. Users should pay usage fee for accessing the roads (by paying their broadband bill) and postal stamp (by paying the service provider). A lot of the technology for building the VoiP, messaging and Video Calls are free and open source and don't have an underlying cost of the technology itself, which isn't the case with Telecommunications, where a lot of the technology is patented and the entry barriers are very high. Licensing is a good option to control supply and quality of services being offered, however for OTT services, market forces (end users) control the same. 

Question 3: Is the growth of OTT impacting the traditional revenue stream of TSPs? If so, is the increase in data revenues of the TSPs sufficient to compensate for this impact? Please comment with reasons.
Yes, revenues are being impacted and Data revenue may not compensate for the impact. Considering the introduction of new technology, old technology becomes obsolete and a correction in the business model is needed based on market demands. An analogy would be - Should we restrict use of renewable energy because traditional energy companies have their larger chunk of revenue coming from non-renewable energy sources? The TSPs should adapt to the change in market trends and manage their business's accordingly.

Question 4: Should the OTT players pay for use of the TSPs network over and above data charges paid by consumers? If yes, what pricing options can be adopted? Could such options include prices based on bandwidth consumption? Can prices be used as a means product/service differentiation? Please comment with justifications.
If OTT players are charged for using TSPs network, they would pass of the charges to the end-user. If the end-user is unwilling to pay(which is realistic situation in india where customer's are price sensitive), then OTT services would be impacted. The reason users would prefer to stick with OTT services is because it's free of cost. If the users have to pay for messaging on the phone and on OTT services as well, they'd only choose the cheaper option and wouldn't help TSPs revenue. The current growth and adaptation of services like Whatsapp has been driven by the price based competition in India. Charging OTTs may lead to a slight increase in the govt.s tax revenues, but will also stifle competition and would just be a lose-lose situation for all.

Question 5: Do you agree that imbalances exist in the regulatory environment in the operation of OTT players? If so, what should be the framework to address these issues? How can the prevailing laws and regulations be applied to OTT players (who operate in the virtual world) and compliance enforced? What could be the impact on the economy? Please comment with justifications.
Yes, imbalances exist in regulatory environment for OTT. The laws which have been drafted are difficult to apply to the virtual world. Rather than applying these laws and rules as is to the virtual world, focus should be on understanding the spirit of the laws and draft them in a way to apply them on the virtual world.

Question 6: How should the security concerns be addressed with regard to OTT players providing communication services? What security conditions such as maintaining data records, logs etc. need to be mandated for such OTT players? And, how can compliance with these conditions be ensured if the applications of such OTT players reside outside the country? Please comment with justifications.

Question 7: How should the OTT players offering app services ensure security, safety and privacy of the consumer? How should they ensure protection of consumer interest? Please comment with justifications.
Consumer interest is best served by consumer education. Rather than dictating the privacy policy of each app, it should be mandated that OTT service providers clearly educate their end users about how they use their data. Displaying a mandatory video in the language of the end user instead of a lengthy textual terms of use and privacy policy in the app will educate the end user and allow them to make their choice of using the application and understanding and assuming the risks.

Question 8: In what manner can the proposals for a regulatory framework for OTTs in India draw from those of ETNO, referred to in para 4.23 or the best practices summarised in para 4.29? And, what practices should be proscribed by regulatory fiat? Please comment with justifications.

Question 9: What are your views on net-neutrality in the Indian context? How should the various principles discussed in para 5.47 be dealt with? Please comment with justifications.
Net Neutrality assumes that all internet endpoints and services are equal and discriminatory access based on service providers discretion are against this principle. Bandwidth and Frequency are common property resource and TSPs only provide a facility to utilize these Common Property Resources. TSPs do not own Bandwidth and as such should not dictate who is allowed greater access. Unlike water or land, which is scarce, the limits of availability of bandwidth are still being explored. As new technology is evolved, the ability to accomodate more users and more services grows. The physical laws of the natural world do not apply and as such same rules do not apply. Consider TSPs to the Postal Services and should be considered essential to the progress of the country and the economy. If each website is akin on one individual or a company, each website should have the right to be accessed at the same speed. Obiviously then the limiting factor would be the website's own resources to meet their demand. Net Neutrality is therefore essential and going against it would further complicate the situation.

Question 10: What forms of discrimination or traffic management practices are reasonable and consistent with a pragmatic approach? What should or can be permitted? Please comment with justifications.

Question 11: Should the TSPs be mandated to publish various traffic management techniques used for different OTT applications? Is this a sufficient condition to ensure transparency and a fair regulatory regime?

Question 12: How should a conducive and balanced environment be created such that TSPs are able to invest in network infrastructure and CAPs are able to innovate and grow? Who should bear the network upgradation costs? Please comment with justifications

Question 13: Should TSPs be allowed to implement non-price based discrimination of services? If so, under what circumstances are such practices acceptable? What restrictions, if any, need to be placed so that such measures are not abused? What measures should be adopted to ensure transparency to consumers? Please comment with justifications.

Question 14: Is there a justification for allowing differential pricing for data access and OTT communication services? If so, what changes need to be brought about in the present tariff and regulatory framework for telecommunication services in the country? Please comment with justifications.

Question 15: Should OTT communication service players be treated as Bulk User of Telecom Services (BuTS)? How should the framework be structured to prevent any discrimination and protect stakeholder interest? Please comment with justification.

Question 16: What framework should be adopted to encourage India-specific OTT apps? Please comment with justifications.

Question 17: If the OTT communication service players are to be licensed, should they be categorised as ASP or CSP? If so, what should be the framework? Please comment with justifications.

Question 18: Is there a need to regulate subscription charges for OTT communication services? Please comment with justifications.

Question 19: What steps should be taken by the Government for regulation of non-communication OTT players? Please comment with justifications.

Question 20: Are there any other issues that have a bearing on the subject discussed?