Govt issues new order to telecom companies - It's for national security

Telecommunications data --- video, voice, and text --- have all become crucial for government in its national security and safety ecosystem. The government may require the data from the telecom companies as and when the need for it arises. For that, telecom companies need to keep them in their archives.

But how long can the telecom companies store the obviously voluminous data? They cannot be expected to keep them for perpetuity. Where will they go such storage space?

Anyway, the government had hitherto mandated the telecom companies to archive call data and internet usage records for at least one year.

Now, it has been increased to two years.

Telecom companies can of course junk the data stored thereafter if there is no direction from the government.

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Why this change now?

According to a circular from the Department of Telecom (DoT), telecom companies have been ordered to extend the duration of archiving call data and internet usage records of subscribers to two years from one year.

“The licensee shall maintain all commercial records/call detail record/exchange detail record/IP detail record with record to the communications exchanged on the network. Such records shall be archived for at least two years for scrutiny by the licensor for security reasons,” the DoT circular read.

The circular added that the amendment is necessary in “public interest or in the interest of the security of the state or for the proper conduct of the telegraphs”.

Typically, telecom companies are expected to maintain a full-fledged record of internet data of their subscribers, and that would include login and logout details of internet as well as email services. 

Further, the companies are expected to store other internet telephony services like calls made from mobile applications or wifi calling for at least two years.

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