competition in the Indian telecom sector
As per the report of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, on which the market study of CCI is based, observed that along with the development of technology in the telecom sector, the consumer preference also altered drastically as the voice call dominating telecom market has been transformed into data-rich content packs. Furthermore, an evolution of bundling of services can be observed in this sector as initially only "Duo Play" was in existence where voice and messaging services were provided by the operators. However, after the commencement of 2G and 3G network coverages, "Triple Play" came into existence, where the data services were also bundled. Currently, one can see "Quad Play" in the market where OTT services are provided to ensure a holistic experience to the consumers.
Currently, the Indian telecom sector is moving towards bringing 5G technology in India. However, consumers are still struggling with some basic issues like poor network coverage. Thus, more along with bringing innovation in the market, improvement of existing infrastructure should also be stressed upon.
Emerging Competition issues
Under competition law, one of the initial aspects which come under consideration is the determination of the relevant market. In the case of CCI v. Coordination Committee of Artistes & Technicians of W.B. Film & Televisions, it was observed that the purpose of defining "Relevant Market" is to assess, with identifying systematically, the competitive constraints that undertaking face when operating in the market. However, considering the complex structure of the telecom sector and evolving dynamism, it becomes very hard to define the relevant market in this sector.
As already discussed, "Quad Play" is one of the emerging bundling services which collaborates the OTT platforms with the mainstream telecom services. This shows the shift in consumer behaviour. Along with low price factor, data speeds and bundling offers are creating new competition rivalry between the telecom operators. In upcoming days, it could be seen that an operator who will provide the best price to the consumer along with other services, will emerge as a dominant player in the telecom sector. Furthermore, the integration of OTT platforms with telecom operator could trigger vertical competition issue. However, there is no evident proof of the same. Instead, the telecom stakeholders are claiming it to be beneficial for both the operators as well as consumers.
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