Airtel requested that the union and state governments, as well as law enforcement authorities, share the cost of surveillance incurred by telecom operators when call interception orders are issued. The request was a part of a 16 page regulatory submission in response to a pre-consultation paper on creating a new legislative framework for telecom in India. Entrackr obtained the filing through the RTI Act.
On internet shutdowns, Airtel said that requests for turning off mobile data from law enforcement should be routed through a senior official in the union government. “Since Telegraph is a Union subject [in the Constitution], we believe that only [the] Central government should be the governing authority in this regard, unless the order to shut services is through the High Court or a similar higher authority,” Airtel said.
Possessing and using illegal SIM boxes and repeaters should be a “non-bailable and cognisable offence,” Airtel said, as should vandalism targeting telecom equipment.
entrackr.com