OTT Platforms in India Using 5G Networks Without Paying Up, Claims COAI DG

Cellular Operators Association of India Director General S P Kochhar on Thursday made a case for sharing profit between OTT players and telecom companies for using 5G networks. 

"While telcos carry their traffic of voice and data, majority of the use of these networks is done by OTT players who load these networks with massive amounts of data which they carry to the end users.

"They get it from content providers, put it on their platform and deliver it to the end users without paying anything to the network providers who have created the network for them to roll on," Kochhar said.

OTT players, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, SonyLIV have significant user base in India.

He said over-the-top platforms benefit from the roll-out of advanced technologies like 5G.

"It is like building a house and staying in one floor and other floors are given out on rent which are used by the tenant for commercial purposes but he doesn't pay the rent.

"This is very silly. If I have built something and I give it out on rent, I expect some value to come out of it. I'm not saying that the entire amount of profit that you earn will come to me but some amount should," he pointed out.

Telcos are facing financial distress because of their huge capex that they have incurred to roll out 5G networks, he added.

"We are asking for a fair share for setting up, maintaining and running these networks," Kochhar added.

Reports suggest that India's video OTT market is expected to touch $12.5 billion (nearly Rs. 1,03,890 crore) by 2030 on the back of access to better networks, digital connectivity and smartphones.