Netflix, Amazon oppose Trai's bid to regulate content delivery networks

Streaming giants Netflix, Amazon, and other industry bodies oppose Trai's proposal to regulate content delivery networks, warning it could affect investments and harm India's digital economy

Leading content delivery companies such as Netflix, Amazon, Universal Studios, and Warner Bros have opposed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) proposal to regulate them. They said that they are not telecom operators and therefore do not fall under the regulator’s jurisdiction, according to a report by The Economic Times.

 

A coalition of content delivery network (CDN) companies, represented by global industry bodies such as the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), Broadband India Forum (BIF), and advisory groups like Deepstrat and Koan Advisory, presented their case during a Trai open house discussion. They said that CDNs primarily cache and deliver content rather than enabling end-to-end communication, the report said.

   

The news report quoted Debashish Bhattacharya, deputy director-general at Broadband India Forum (BIF) (which includes members like Amazon, Google, Meta, Netflix, and Disney Star), saying CDNs are neither telecom operators nor internet service providers. 

Bhattacharya said CDNs act as customers or private networks interconnected with telecom services through transit and peering arrangements. CDNs do not manage bandwidth delivery or provisioning, making telecom-specific regulations inapplicable to them, he added.

Telecom operators’ stand on CDN governance

Telecom operators argued that CDNs should remain governed by market dynamics rather than regulatory frameworks. However, some, like Bharti Airtel, suggested that CDNs should adhere to specific obligations. Airtel’s written submission recommended that CDNs maintain minimum quality standards, comply with content blocking orders, and expand infrastructure to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, the report said. 

According to Nasscom, India’s CDN market is expected to grow from $435.2 million in 2018 to $2.85 billion by 2027. CDNs play a crucial role in reducing latency, mitigating network congestion, and enhancing internet traffic delivery. 

Debashish Bhattacharya of BIF cautioned that misinformation regarding regulation could deter investments in India’s burgeoning CDN, cloud, and data center sectors, potentially hampering economic growth, the report said. The discussions at Trai’s open house revolved around whether CDNs should be brought under a network authorisation regime and the conditions this would entail.