The Telecommunications Bill, 2023 was recently passed by the Lok Sabha. It is a major piece of legislation that gives the government the power to briefly take over telecom services for national security reasons.

The bill, which was passed by voice vote after a short discussion, also talks about how to divide up satellite spectrum and gives the government the power to take over a telecom network in an emergency or for public safety reasons.

Bill

Plans for what to do in case of an emergency

In case of a public emergency, the bill, which was pushed by Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, spells out ways to stop transmission and read texts. It stresses that these kinds of steps are necessary to keep people from being encouraged to commit crimes during times of trouble.

The bill says that the central government or a state government can temporarily take over any telecommunication service or telecommunication network from an authorized entity “in the event of any public emergency, including disaster management, or in the interest of public safety,” as long as they are sure it is necessary or helpful.

Press messages need to be protected.

The bill says that press messages from reporters working for the Central Government or a state government cannot be read or held without following certain rules that apply to public situations or maintaining public order.

Vaishnaw pointed out that the bill allows spectrum to be given to satellite communications companies through the administrative way. This is in line with what global satellite services companies want and goes against what domestic telecom players say.

Auction Route vs. Administrative Route

The bill suggests that the central government should give spectrum to telecommunications companies through auctions, unless the spectrum is needed for certain items in the First Schedule, in which case it should be given through the administrative process.

This move is in line with global trends and meets the needs of satellite service providers, even though domestic telecom companies would rather see business use through auctions.

Measures of Regulation

Once the bill is passed, companies in the telecom sector will no longer need licenses to provide telecommunication services, but will instead need permission. This will mark a change in the way the industry is regulated.

As part of the government’s plan, the highest fines for telecom operators will be cut from Rs 50 crore to Rs 5 crore per circle. This is a big drop. This means that the highest fine for a telecom company will now be about Rs 1,100, which is a big drop.

Keeping the telecom infrastructure safe

The bill includes safety steps to protect telecom infrastructure, with a focus on making sure that rules for the smooth deployment of networks, especially those using optical fiber cables, are followed more closely.

To make it easier for telecom network setups to go smoothly, the government wants to create exemptions that protect telecom networks on any property from claims, encumbrances, liquidation, or other problems that might come up with that property.