Subject: OTT - Issues for Consultation
From: Ankur Mehrotra
Date: 30-Mar-15 3:12 PM
To: advqos@trai.gov.in

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to share my comments on the various questions raised in your paper, as provided on the link https://trai.gov.in/WriteReaddata/ConsultationPaper/Document/OTT-CP-27032015.pdf 
As a consumer, engineer, and a professional who has been working in the ICT Industry and has had experience  of also using OTT services across the world, i would like to share my views:

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.

Answers: Yes, however, I believe there is no need of a regulation to begin with. The reason is that at the cost of bringing regulations for one set of businesses we would be putting OTT vendors at a loss. This is against the sprit of free information flow which would always, no matter what the penetration is, be critical for usage of internet.

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.

Answers : No, why should they be? Did we bring email providers under a licensing regime, to protect postal services? When email is a key cornerstone communication application, which had no need to be licensed why should we treat voice/video/messaging services differently? As internet moves to be a unified medium, it would get more complex to even define these categories. For example, facebook has social network with inbuilt messaging, similar to OTT, how do you treat it, social network or a communication service? Similar example stands for twitter too. To top it, we would become the first country in the world to do so, to curb the free choice available to our consumters if we make it license based. Today when my family can stay in touch using these services, by paying a lump sum price of montly data, it enables them to be in close contact. Imagine the potential these services have in a country like ours, and how we can leverage open services for better information flow.

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. 
Answers: Yes and no, impacting messaging stream for sure. In many cases, TSPs were charging exhorbitantly on special days(Festivals) with no extra quality of service added up for SMSes, was that not unfair to customers at the cost of revenue generation. The TSP industry is still growing at the rate of 5% per annum in India, when we are almost getting to stage of 100% mobile penetration, this is happening inspite of growth in OTT services. Finally, as a regulator, is it our job as TRAI to protect revenues of our licensees? No, they can still fail at their businesses, they can be creative they already have app stores, music streaming services, some even offered OTT services for free to push their data usage. 
Voice and video services can quickly consume data limits for most of us, these are killer sources of generating data revenue for TSPs. More and more services, apps, and tools are moving towards video and voice, this is an excellent mode of data services to be consumed, without getting into a service differentiation or selection by a TSP.To top this, imagine customers getting completely lost in picking plans where their three OTT services getting priced differently and making it a challenge for them to make informed choice.

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 of product/service differentiation? Please comment with justifications. 
Answer: This is a very central topic of the debate. The moment TSPs are allowed to charge OTT vendors, they have an option to throttle or support services, this will directly affect consumers who will be forced to migrate from their preferred services. This not only will give too much power to TSPs, both in terms of demanding charges from OTT vendors but also kill innovation. New OTT players will lose a standing chance due to this option, entreprenuers and young start ups will not stand a chance because they will be at mercy of telecom players. Ultimate loss will be for the consumer, as there will also be a good chance that prices might be passed on to customers.
Finally, the infrastructure of TSPs is common, then why should service quality be a selective option? We already have service differentiation between 2G and 3G, this is enough.

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.
Answer: None is reasonable, period. Please refer answer 4 above.

Question 16: What framework should be adopted to encourage Indiaspecific OTT apps? Please comment with justifications.
Answer: Its very good that local innovation is supported, however, we are already getting there with a startup revolution. We already have hike messenger or telegram which are locally made, these services are good as any. If innovation is to be truly supported, then we must ensure that TSPs do not set the terms of new players, as this will kill great new ideas in the bud. 

Question 18: Is there a need to regulate subscription charges for OTT communication services? Please comment with justifications.
Answer: There is no need to baby sit consumers, they will opt for services based on what suits their needs and provide reasonable quality. This also means some will opt for free and others opt for priced options, and will be served with differentiated QoS by the OTT players. This will also reflect automatically in usage patterns of data services.

Question 19: What steps should be taken by the Government for regulation of non-communication OTT players? Please comment with justifications. 
Answers: Do nothing, unless services are hurting safety, integrity and peace of the country. This is a free space, the good services will automatically be picked and used by consumers.