Amid rising incidents of cyber fraud and growing concerns around national security, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has urged that all OTT (Over-the-top) communication applications be mandatorily bound to verified mobile SIMs. The suggestion comes as digital scammers increasingly shift away from traditional telecom platforms to app-based messaging services that currently operate outside the scope of telecom-level controls.
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Highlighting a widening gap in regulatory oversight, COAI warned that existing safeguards implemented by telecom operators, such as CNAP (Caller Name Presentation), suspected spam protection for voice and SMS, and content screening via DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology), are being circumvented as fraudsters exploit the unregulated nature of OTT messaging platforms.
“COAI believes that in the light of escalating digital scams and sovereign security challenges, all OTT communication apps should be mandated to bind with the verified mobile SIMs at all times, to ensure cyber fraud prevention and to strengthen national security. This approach would ensure consumer trust, accountability, traceability and alignment with existing regulatory frameworks,” said Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar, Director General, COAI.
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COAI pointed out that current communication apps only verify the SIM card during the initial installation, after which they continue to function regardless of whether the SIM is removed, replaced, or deactivated. This gap in traceability has serious implications. For instance, if a device is used for criminal activity after the original SIM has been removed, there remains no verifiable trail, such as call logs, location data, or network information, to track the source.
“Presently, the binding process between a subscriber’s app-based communication services and their mobile SIM card occurs only once during the initial installation and verification phase, after which the application continues to function independently. This proves to be a major impediment towards preventing the issues of spam and cyber frauds and could pose a major threat to national security as well,” COAI warned in its statement.
To address this, COAI has recommended that OTT communication apps implement persistent SIM-binding, meaning the app would only work if the authenticated SIM is physically inserted and active in the device at all times. This, the association believes, will ensure traceability between the user, the number, and the device, which is an essential capability for law enforcement and regulatory compliance.
“COAI believes that this will not only help reduce the occurrence of spam and fraud communications significantly over these applications, but also help mitigate financial frauds by acting as a deterrent against misuse of app-based communication platforms, thus bringing relief to both the telecom service providers and the OTT communication platforms,” said Lt. Gen. Kochhar. “It will also help establish a regulatory level playing field by ensuring that laws and compliance frameworks governing user identification, geographic accountability and lawful interception protocols apply equally to app-based communication services and telecom service providers.”
