PTI
The landmark Telecommunications Bill, which was passed by Parliament recently, has received the President’s assent. ‘The Telecommunications Act, 2023’ is set to overhaul the country’s century-old telecom law to make the sector investor-friendly; it prioritises user protection but also extends powers to the government to intercept communications.
While it excludes from its ambit broadcasting, and over-the-top services such as WhatsApp and Telegram, it cements rules for spectrum allocation and provides for a non-auction route for assigning airwaves for satellite-based communication services. The legislation – which allows the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security – was cleared by the Lok Sabha on December 20, and by Rajya Sabha on December 21.
