India’s Telecom Act comes into effect, strengthens govt control

India’s Telecommunications Act, 2023, which replaces the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act of 1933 and the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, is now in operation. The Act aims at ushering key changes in the country’s telecom law structure, essential to deal with technological developments in the telecom sector.

“The Telecommunications Act, 2023 (44 of 2023), the Central Government hereby appoints the 26th Day of June 2024, as the date on which the provisions of Sections 1, 2, 10 to 30, 42 to 44, 46, 47, 50 to 58, 61 and 62 of the said Act shall come into force,” a government notification said.

Here are a few salient features of the Act:

• The Act grants the government authority to control of telecom services and networks for the sake of national security, safety of people, relations with other nations and India’s sovereignty. The government now has the right to intercept any message deemed a threat to law and order, too.
•  The Act has adopted a strict approach towards unsolicited commercial messages. A service provider responsible for transmitting such messages without the assent of a user is liable to be fined up to Rs 2 lakh and could be banned from operating. “Telecommunication is a powerful tool for empowerment of masses. However, it can be misused to cause harm to users. The Act provides measures for protection of users from unsolicited commercial communication and create a grievance redressal mechanism,” the official gazette notification says.
• Users will now be allowed to register nine SIM cards in their name, the Act says, though the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, and the Northeast, are likely to have a lesser limit. Violation of the limit would lead to a Rs 50,000 fine for the first infringement, and Rs 2 lakh for further infringements.
• The procedure to mount mobile towers or place cables on private property has been streamlined for telecom firms, since the Act considers such operations significant for better connectivity, and for the growth and maintenance of the sector’s infrastructure.

The Telecommunications Act, 2023, was passed by Parliament in December last year. India’s Telecom Act received approval of the President of India on December 24, 2023 and was published in the official Gazette the same day.