TRAI AND OTT PLATFORM (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Recently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) published a Consultation Paper concerning the 'Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services, and Selective Banning of OTT Services.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

• About: It is a regulatory body set up by the Government of India under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
• Aim: To regulate telecom services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.
• Establishment: In 1997
• Composition: Chairperson, two whole-time members and two part-time members, all of which are appointed by the Government of India.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Communications and Broadcasting
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Tenure: 3 years or till the age of 65 years

Over-The-Top (OTT) Platform

• About: Originally designed as a content hosting service, quickly expanded its scope to encompass the production & and distribution of short films, feature movies, documentaries & web series
• These platforms provide a variety of content and employ artificial intelligence to recommend content to users based on their previous viewing habits on the platform.
• Examples: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock, Curiosity Stream, Pluto TV, and so many more.