Private Indian telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are at odds with international businesses operating in the nation, like Amazon, over the definition of international SMS costs and cellular traffic.
As international SMS costs are subject to forbearance and telcos can take advantage of the lack of a definition to charge higher rates, according to US e-commerce behemoth Amazon, a definition is required. The carriers disagree, claiming that using an unregulated channel to deliver application-to-person (A2P) messages to consumers in India that are international SMSes while masquerading as local SMSes They are charged significantly less, which is equivalent to committing fraud.
Following the publication of a paper by the Trai, which claimed that corporate entities had requested a definition of international SMS costs and telecom traffic in order to offer clarity, battle lines were set. Even with a recent fee increase imposed by the telcos on the latter, messages sent domestically still cost 13 paise, and those sent internationally are charged 5 cents (Rs 4.10).
Amazon argued that technological developments have led to solutions that function before the creation of the actual message. They do not interface with any telecom networks in their comments on the discussion paper.
“Given that SMS termination fees are passed on to (enterprise) customers, the lack of clarity on “international SMS” and “domestic SMS” allows TSPs (telecom service providers) to adopt their own interpretation and classify a message produced by a computer resource or server located outside India as “international SMS,” despite the origination and termination of the SMS being limited to the network of TSPs in India, to bring it under the scope of forbearance.
Jio refuted Amazon’s claim.
According to Vodafone Idea, any definition of an international SMS would become obsolete and general in the upcoming years due to the technological advancements mentioned by the major international players in their comments.
According to the telecoms, businesses like Amazon send A2P messages that terminate in the nation over an unlicensed route.
The message generated by an overseas server will enter India through an international long-distance node, from which it will be transferred to a domestic telecom node, and from there to the end user, as all three telecoms noted.
