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ARTICLE · 02 JULY 2018

The Age Of Internet Telephony Has Officially Arrived

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On 19 June 2018, the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India finally provided its nod to several key recommendations made by TRAI on the Regulatory Framework for Internet Telephony in October 2017.

IndiaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Harsh Walia
Harsh Walia
Shobhit Chandra
Shobhit Chandra
Piyush Ranjan
Piyush Ranjan
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Introduction

On 19 June 2018, the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India (DoT) finally provided its nod to several key recommendations (Recommendations) made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the Regulatory Framework for Internet Telephony in October 2017. DoT has released a clarification (Clarification) and certain amendments to existing licenses (Amendment), both of which are slated to take effect immediately.

But, what does this imply? In simple terms, one would be able to make or receive an internet protocol (IP) call on their mobile phone, by subscribing to internet telephony from its telecom operator but it is not necessary that the user is latched to the internet network of the same telecom service provider (TSP) to do so. This comes at a very interesting time when prices for voice calling have already hit rock bottom, leaving TSPs facing losses and a liquidity crunch.

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