The Department of Telecom has sought views of sector regulator TRAI to prepare a framework for regulating internet calling and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Google Meet, etc, a government official said on Wednesday.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) last week sent back a recommendation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on internet telephony issued in 2008 for review and has asked the sector regulator to come up with a comprehensive reference due to the change in technical environment amid the emergence of new technologies.

“The Internet Telephony recommendation of TRAI was not accepted by the DoT. The Department has now sought a comprehensive reference from TRAI for internet telephony and over-the-top players,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said, according to a PTI report.

Telecom operators have been asking the government to apply the principle of “same service same rules” to the industry.

They have frequently asked that internet calling and messaging apps pay the same level of the license fee and comply with the regulation of legal interception, quality of service, etc, as applicable to telecom operators and internet service providers (ISPs).