The telecom industry faces a “major challenge” as large traffic-generating digital platforms do not contribute to network costs, COAI said on Friday asserting that the “conundrum” is placing undue burden on telcos, hampering their financial sustainability and impeding further investments into network enhancements. The large traffic-generating platforms, despite earning both from subscription fees and advertising revenues, do not contribute to the network costs financially, rued Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) whose prominent members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. Telcos have been demanding a fair share from such platforms, emphasising the need for equitable cost distribution amid rising infrastructure expenses and increasing costs of network deployment and maintenance. “Despite the overall growth of the sector, the industry faces a major challenge, revolving around the lack of contribution to network costs from Large Traffic Generating (LTG) digital platforms/players,” COAI said in a note summing up the year.

 

In the write-up citing the year-end perspective that highlighted among multiple things the “LTG conundrum”, COAI Director General, SP Kochhar, said the situation places an undue burden on telcos, hindering their financial sustainability and impeding further investments in network enhancements. “The recent bill introduced in the US Senate is also an acknowledgement of the need for high traffic generating ‘Edge Service Providers’ to contribute to the costs of delivering affordable broadband to all citizens and corroborates the stance of the Indian telecom sector,” according to COAI. Industry stakeholders also look forward to a collaborative effort with LTGs to develop high-quality networks and a responsible fair-sharing model, ensuring sustainable growth for the entire digital ecosystem. The evolving regulatory landscape is also expected to play a pivotal role in addressing challenges, and providing a supportive framework for innovation while maintaining fair competition, as per COAI.

 

India’s telecom sector witnessed significant developments in 2023, including “remarkable growth” propelled by the nationwide rollout of 5G, setting unprecedented benchmarks. With over 3.97 lakh of 5G BTS sites established in more than 738 districts until November, India has risen to become a global 5G leader. With 1.148 billion wireless subscribers as of August, the industry has witnessed a 1.9 per cent growth from the previous year, with the average data usage per subscriber soaring to 17.4 GB per month.