Parliament passes Telecommunications Bill, 2023; Here’s how it will impact mobile users in India | 5 points
- The bill, approved by both houses of Parliament, will result in jail terms and fines for fraud, combat SIM card cloning, and protect press messages from interception.
This week, Indian Parliament passed the Telecommunications Bill, 2023 to reform the country's century-old telecom law, based on the Indian Telegraph Act, of 1885, the Wireless Telegraphy Act (1933), and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act (1950). The bill cements rules for spectrum allocation and provides for a non-auction route for giving airwaves for satellite-based communication services. It also lays down stringent provisions for phone number spoofing for fraud and moots a "digital-by-design" online grievance redressal mechanism for addressing users' complaints. The Telecommunications Bill, 2023 also seeks to tighten the noose on pesky callers through various means, including by checking misuse of SIM.
The bill, which was cleared by Lok Sabha on Wednesday, was approved by Rajya Sabha through a voice vote on Thursday. Now, the bill will go to the President for assent, after which it will become the law of the land.
Here are the 5 biggest impact the Telecom Bill 2023 will have on the common men
1. Obtaining a SIM or other telecom resources through fraud, personation, or cheating, will result in a jail term of up to three years and a fine of ₹50 lakh.
2. The new Telecom bill has a provision for crimes related to spoofing or cloning of SIM cards. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea have warned their subscribers against the cloning of SIM cards.
3. Consent of mobile users will be required for receiving advertising/promotional messages under this bill
4. The press messages of correspondents accredited to the Centre or state governments will not be intercepted or detained unless their transmission has been prohibited under rules applicable to public emergency and public order.
5. Under the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, the telecom operators have been mandated to capture verifiable biometrics data when they issue a new connection.
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Business NewsIndustryTelecomParliament passes Telecommunications Bill, 2023; Here’s how it will impact mobile users in India | 5 points
First Published:22 Dec 2023, 11:21 AM IST
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