Telcos may seek time for DPDP compliance

18-Month Window Likely

- JATIN GROVER

TELECOM OPERATORS SUCH as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio are likely to seek an 18-month timeline to comply with the provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act after the notification of its rules, sources said.

The operators are expected to include this request in their comments to the government on the draft rules for implementing the Act, which were released last week.

The extended timeline is being sought to allow telecom operators to modify their customer application forms (CAFs) and adapt their existing technological frameworks to manage user consent regarding data usage and processing.

Given the massive volumes of personal data handled by telecom operators, they are expected to be classified as significant data fiduciaries under the DPDP Act.