Now you may need to pay to use WhatsApp, Viber, Skype and other messaging apps. According to ET Now, a leaked Department of Telecom (DoT) report that was sent to the telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recommends a complete regulatory intervention on over the top (OTT) services like WhatsApp, Viber, Skype and to bring this services under the same telecom rule prevailed in the country. This regulations will then ensure fair play in the telecom sector, says the DoT report.
DoT recommendation on Net Neutrality seems to be in favour of telecom operators, as they complaint that instant messaging apps have been eating away their revenues. First it was the SMS services and now the voice calls that been under threat from this OTT service like WhatsApp call, Hangout video chat, Skype etc. Telecom operators says their 80 percent of revenue comes from voice calling, which being disrupted by this OTT services.
According to the report, DOT recommends the Govt to bring up regulation to charge this service like implementing a licensing fees like other telecom services. This would be definitely against net neutrality and affect the growth of startups and will restrain innovation.
Here’s how Indians reacted to the new on Twitter –