iPhones in India May Stop Working If Apple-TRAI Tussle Drags On

Apple and TRAI are caught in battle that wants to safeguard users, but with different methods.

Apple iPhones in India could stop working if TRAI doesn’t get its way.

(Photo: AP screengrab)

The ongoing saga between the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI and Apple is entering a new dimension. The regulatory body has clearly stated in its new regulations that if Apple doesn’t adhere to its instructions, then telecom networks will very soon stop working on iPhones in the country.

This strong message has been laid out, as TRAI looks to curb the menace of pesky promotional calls and messages that have angered mobile users in the country for a long time.

Too caught up to read? You can listen to this story instead

The DND app, which is already available on Android, has found it hard to launch on iOS. This is because Apple clearly believes in user’s data privacy, while the app seeks permissions to access call logs and message records.

The Cupertino-based giant has repeatedly shown its commitment to user data privacy and this is another example of it sticking to its stand.

TRAI and Apple have been stuck in a tussle, in which no party wants to back down from its stance. Interestingly, both the entities have a common goal in sight, ie safety of users and their data.

TRAI is also one of the few telecom bodies in the world to have openly stated its point of view about net neutrality, and how India will chart out its own policies in this regard. But coming back to the Apple issue at hand, TRAI’s new regulations highlight that telecom operators need to ensure all devices on their networks have installed the DND 2.0 app, or else face the consequences.

Every Access Provider shall ensure, within six months’ time, that all smart phone devices registered on its network support the permissions required for the functioning of such Apps as prescribed in the regulations 6(2)(e) and regulations 23(2)(d). 

<a href="https://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/RegulationUcc19072018.pdf">TRAI Regulation</a>

File photo of TRAI Chairman RS Sharma (Left). 

The worry is, if handset makers including Apple don’t comply, the devices will stop working on India-centric networks, as they will be derecognised.

Provided that where such devices do not permit functioning of such Apps as prescribed in regulations 6(2)(e) and regulations 23(2)(d), access providers shall, on the order or direction of the authority, derecognize such devices from their telecom networks.

TRAI Regulation

With the DND 2.0 app, TRAI wants to ensure the days of pesky telemarketing calls to users comes to an end. This app is supposed to detect such calls or messages and help TRAI collect data on who is sending them and for what purpose. Accessing all this data would go through on Android without any qualms, especially with Google wanting to be on the right side of the Indian government.

Apple, on the other hand, has been stubborn in its approach, and has decided that the DND 2.0 app is asking for a lot of user information, which it can’t allow a third-party app to access on its devices.

High-end iPhones like the iPhone X will stop working if Apple does not comply with TRAI’s new regulations.  

If they don’t work out a solution for this, TRAI could possibly be forced to ban use of iPhones in the country, which for the millions of users that Apple has, would be catastrophic.

If TRAI lives up to its words, then Apple’s effort to grow in India, one of the biggest smartphone markets, will come to a standstill. This is something Tim Cook and Co cannot afford, with so much being invested recently and more expected in the near future.

This tussle needs the office of the prime minister to intervene and work out a solution that is acceptable to both TRAI and Apple, or else, consumers will suffer in the end.