Have OTT players pay telecom firms usage charges, COAI writes to DoT

Telcos point out that based on global estimates 56% of telco bandwidth is used by OTT communication platforms and in India it is even higher due to the proliferation of users which are over 400 mn

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) - the apex body for telecommunication (telecom) companies - has demanded that over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms pay telecom companies (telcos) ‘usage charges’, based on the actual traffic carried by them on their networks.

The move has been seen by platforms as a way to violate the principles of net neutrality by bringing in differential pricing for different sets of consumers.     

In a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), it has requested the government to incorporate a mechanism into the draft telecom Bill by defining ‘usage charges’ and clearly define what