Lok Sabha Question No. 2379 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-01
Subject: Internet Telephony
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Adhikari Dibyendu, KIRIT SOMAIYA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2379 TO BE ANSWERED ON 1 ST  AUGUST, 2018

## INTERNET TELEPHONY

## 2379.  SHRI DIBYENDU ADHIKARI:

DR. KIRIT SOMAIYA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to introduce internet telephony system in the country and if so, the details and the benefits thereof;
- (b) whether the said facility will be available in flights and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the telecom operators will charge more than the usual for such services and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether a customer has to change SIM card/Mobile number to activate the said services and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the likely benefit the customers will get from this new service and the cost involved therein?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) Madam, the Unified licenses under the Access Service authorization are already permitted to provide Internet Telephony.  Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has also  issued  a  clarification  dated  19 th   June,  2018  in  this  regard  (copy  enclosed  as Annexure-I). A copy of  Unified Licence amendment is enclosed as Annexure-II.
- (b) At present, in-flight connectivity  on aircraft is not permitted in India.  The facility of internet telephony can be offered once in-flight connectivity is allowed by the Govt.
- (c) Tariff  for  telecom  access  services  is  under  forbearance  except  for  national roaming and rural fixed telephony services. No tariff is specified for Internet Telephony services or in-flight services. The charges to be levied for different types of calls/data are decided  by  the  service  provider  taking  into  account  several  factors  including  the  input costs, level of competition and other commercial considerations.
- (d) No, Madam. A customer is not required to change SIM/Mobile number to activate the internet telephony.
- (e) This  will  enable  subscribers  to  make  calls  from  places  where  cellular  network coverage is poor but internet service of any internet service provider is available.

To,

All the UL/UL(VNO)/UASL/CMTS Licensees.

## Subject: Clarification regarding Internet Telephony.

With  reference  to  the  Internet  Telephony  services  envisaged  in  the  Licenses  it  is clarified that the said service is un-tethered from the underlying access network. Hence Internet Telephony service can be provided by Access Service Provider to the customers using Internet Service of the other service providers.

(R.K.Soni) Director (AS) Ph. No. 23036284

## Copy to,

1. Secretary (TRAI)
2. Sr.  DDG (TEC)/ Wireless Advisor/ Sr. DDG (DGT-HQ)/ Sr. DDG (LFP)/ DDG (LFA) and DDG (WPF)
3. DDG (CS)/ DDG (DS)/ DDG (A/C)/ CVO
4. COAI.
5. Director (IT) may kindly arrange to upload this letter on the website of DoT.
6. All Directors of AS Division.

## No. 20-573/2017 AS-I

## Government of India Ministry of Communications Department of Telecommunications 20, Ashoka Road, New Delhi - 110001

Dated 19 th June, 2018

To, All the UL Licensees.

Subject: Amendment to the Unified License on Internet Telephony

In  pursuance  to  Condition  5.1,  the  Licensor  hereby  amends  the  Unified  License Agreement as under:

|    | Existing Clause   | Amended Clause                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|----|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  1 |                   | Chapter VIII 2.6(ii) Internet Telephony calls originated by International out roamers from international locations shall be handed over at the International gateway of licensed ILDOs and International termination charges shall be paid to the terminating access service provider. In case the Licensee is not able to ensure that Internet Telephony call originated outside of the country is coming through ILDO gateway, International out- roaming to Internet Telephony subscribers of the access provider shall not be allowed.Further,the calls originated outside the country using internet telephony shall be routed through ILD (International Long Distance) Gateway like any other international call. |
|  2 |                   | Chapter VIII 2.6(iii) The mobile numbering series should be used for providing Internet Telephony by Licensee. TSPs are allowed to allocate same number to the subscriber both for Cellular Mobile service and Internet Telephony service. The access service licensee should use private ENUM in its network for Telephone number mapping from E.164 to SIP/H.323 addresses and vice-versa.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
|  3 |                   | Chapter VIII 2.6(iv) The licensees should comply with all the interception and monitoring related                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |

## No. 20-573/2017 AS-I

## Government of India Ministry of Communications Department of Telecommunications 20, Ashoka Road, New Delhi - 110001

Dated 19 th June 2018

|    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | requirements as specified in the licence as amended from time to time for providing Internet Telephony. The Public IP address used for originating/terminating Internet Telephony calls should be made a mandatory part of CDR in case of Internet Telephony. The location details in form of latitude and longitude should also be provided wherever it is feasible. CLI Restriction (CLIR) facility should not be provided for Internet Telephony Subscribers.   |
|----|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  4 | 'IP Address assigned to a subscriber for Internet Telephony shall conform to IP addressing Scheme of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) only. Translation of E.164 number / private number to IP address and vice versa by the licensee for this purpose shall be as per directions/ instructions issued by the Licensor.' | Chapter VIII 2.6 (v) IP Address assigned to a subscriber for Internet Telephony shall conform to IP addressing Scheme of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) only.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|  5 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Chapter VIII 2.6 (vi) The Licensees providing Internet Telephony service may facilitate access to emergency number calls using location services; however it is not mandated to provide such services at present. The subscribers may be informed about the limitation of providing access to emergency services to Internet Telephony subscribers in unambiguous terms.                                                                                           |
|  6 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Chapter VIII 2.6 (vii) The Licensees must inform QoS parameter supported by them for Internet Telephony so that the subscribers can take an informed decision.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |

2. These  amendments  shall  be  part  and  parcel  of  the  Unified  License  Agreement  and  all others Terms & Conditions shall remain unchanged.
3. These Amendments come into force with immediate effect.

(R.K.Soni) Director (AS) Ph. No. 23036284

## Copy to,

1. Secretary (TRAI)
2. Sr.  DDG (TEC)/ Wireless Advisor/ Sr. DDG (DGT-HQ)/ Sr. DDG (LFP)/ DDG (LFA) and DDG (WPF)
3. DDG (CS)/ DDG (DS)/ DDG (A/C)/ CVO
4. COAI.
5. Director (IT) may kindly arrange to upload this letter on the website of DoT.
6. All Directors of AS Division.

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