New Delhi: Amid a push by Indian telcos to get a fair share in OTT revenue, a senior Meta executive has said the issue is "worthy of exploration" only if telcos don't discriminate among OTT providers in reaching the end consumers.
The executive, however, said that no OTT player has as yet entered into such a business relationship with an internet service provider, though conversations have taken place around concepts like slicing on a mobile network for applications like gaming etc.
"As long as the cost is being borne by the consumer of a service that they (telcos) want to sell to and they don't discriminate among OTT providers in terms of reaching the consumer, then I think it seems like an area worthy of exploration," Thomas Navin, director and global head connectivity policy, Meta said during a discussion in the recently concluded India Mobile Congress.
The comments assume significance as telcos around the globe, including India, have been seeking a share in OTT revenues. That is because operators say OTT players ride on their networks free of cost and earn revenue while telcos need to spend billions of dollars to set up the infrastructure. As per telcos, the large traffic generators (LTGs) need to contribute adequately/proportionately, based on a dynamic model to meet the demands and future modernisation of telecom networks.
As per industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), India is not looking at an isolated case in this regard, as across the world, the demand for fair share is a key issue of contention today, with major economies like the US, EU, South Korea, Brazil and South Africa exploring solutions to tackle the issue.
As per COAI analysis, telcos have invested an additional ₹10,000 crore in 2023 to upgrade network infrastructure, primarily to handle the surge in data traffic from top LTGs. "But the revenue generated from this increased data traffic has been inadequate to cover the rising infrastructure costs," it said.
The executive, however, said that no OTT player has as yet entered into such a business relationship with an internet service provider, though conversations have taken place around concepts like slicing on a mobile network for applications like gaming etc.
"As long as the cost is being borne by the consumer of a service that they (telcos) want to sell to and they don't discriminate among OTT providers in terms of reaching the consumer, then I think it seems like an area worthy of exploration," Thomas Navin, director and global head connectivity policy, Meta said during a discussion in the recently concluded India Mobile Congress.
The comments assume significance as telcos around the globe, including India, have been seeking a share in OTT revenues. That is because operators say OTT players ride on their networks free of cost and earn revenue while telcos need to spend billions of dollars to set up the infrastructure. As per telcos, the large traffic generators (LTGs) need to contribute adequately/proportionately, based on a dynamic model to meet the demands and future modernisation of telecom networks.
As per industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), India is not looking at an isolated case in this regard, as across the world, the demand for fair share is a key issue of contention today, with major economies like the US, EU, South Korea, Brazil and South Africa exploring solutions to tackle the issue.
As per COAI analysis, telcos have invested an additional ₹10,000 crore in 2023 to upgrade network infrastructure, primarily to handle the surge in data traffic from top LTGs. "But the revenue generated from this increased data traffic has been inadequate to cover the rising infrastructure costs," it said.
