Page 3 - Coai

IAMAI opposes demands to share revenue, pay compensation to telcos

COAI has been advocating for a model where online platforms are made to pay 'usage charges' to telecom operators

IAMAI slams COAI over revenue sharing demand that may dilute net neutrality

IAMAI on Thursday slammed the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) for its 'revenue sharing' demand which is "a covert attempt to dilute net neutrality in India"

Telcos' body COAI bats for 5G spectrum, says mid band 6GHz airwaves needed

Industry body COAI on Tuesday made a strong pitch for setting aside mid band 6GHz spectrum for mobile operators, saying it is critical for proliferation of 5G services, and delicensing it to "use for all" will impact quality and cost of next generation services. Radiowaves in 6GHz is a sweetspot for telecom service providers as current spectrum in the mid band is "woefully short of requirement of telcos". Also, 6GHz, with its propagation qualities, will be ideal for densely populated areas, specially urban locations. "Right now, about 720 MHz spectrum that telcos have in the mid band range is not enough for the requirements," SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI (Cellular Operators' Association of India) said briefing reporters on the need for 6GHz spectrum allocation for 5G services.

Implementation of caller name display should not be mandatory: Telcos' body

Industry body COAI has contended that implementation of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) should not be made mandatory but kept optional for telecom operators

Revisit order barring 5G towers on 3.5 GHz near airports, says COAI

The recent order, which came into effect November-end, makes 5G services in the 3,300-3,670 Mhz band unavailable not only in airports but also nearby business and commercial areas

OTT players are 'free riding' on telecom service providers' networks: COAI

BIF on Wednesday wrote a letter to the DoT, saying that if the concept of paying network access charges is to be accepted, the telcos should also pay the OTT platforms

Telcos seek regulatory framework to levy 'fee' on internet messaging apps

Telecom operators industry body COAI has written to the government to set-up a licensing and regulatory framework to charge a 'usage fee' from big internet-based calling and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Google Duo. In a letter to Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman last week, the Cellular Operators Association of India Director General SP Kochhar said that charges may be limited based on usage of the network without burdening over-the-top (OTT) players in micro, small and medium enterprise segment. The Department of Telecom has proposed to define OTT players providing call and messaging service as telecom service providers (TSPs). COAI said OTT players should pay the TSPs for using the telecom network for providing their OTT services to the customers in a fair and equitable manner by way of an equivalent of 'Usage Charge' on the basis of mutual agreement. "There may be instances wherein the OTT players and the TSPs may not agree mutually on 'Usage Charge'. If a mutual agreement

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

OTT players must pay to use the telecom service provider's network: COAI

COAI added that the government must provide a legal framework to enable the service providers to charge any user that uses their services

COAI seeks cut in licence fee; waiver in customs duty for 5G network gear

Mobile operators' association COAI has urged the government for a cut in licence fee to 1 per cent, and sought waiver of customs duty on network equipment for 5G rollout. In its Budget wishlist submitted to the finance ministry, the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) has also pushed for abolition of the Universal Service Obligation Fund or USOF. The apex telecom association has urged the government for rationalisation of GST, reduction of licence fee to 1 per cent from 3 per cent and waiver of customs duty on 5G network equipment. During the pre-Budget discussions held on Monday, COAI also sought removal of GST on licence fee, spectrum usage charges and payment of spectrum acquired in auctions. Other demands include refund of accumulated input tax credit of GST (Rs 32,000 crore) and clarification regarding availability of input tax credit on critical equipment installed on telecom towers. COAI counts telecom operators like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea

Calling for regulation only of communication OTTs, need compensation: COAI

Asserts that OTTs ride on telcs' network infra without paying fees while consuming huge amounts of bandwidth

OTT comms services should be licenced, compensate telecom firms: COAI

Telecom operators' body COAI on Tuesday made a strong pitch for OTT (over-the-top) communications services to directly compensate telcos for data traffic they are driving onto the networks, as it advocated a licencing and light-touch regulation framework for such services. Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), Director General, SP Kochhar said that the association, as part of draft telecom bill, has given its suggestions on how OTT communications services should be defined, to ensure there is no ambiguity. The other aspects like proposing a financial model for OTT communications services to compensate telecom service providers, through a possible revenue share model, will be made to the government going forward as and when the specifics of the framework for light-touch regulation is discussed, Kochhar told reporters at a briefing. In future, the same principle of revenue share basis data consumption, can be applied to other OTTs (all categories), as well, he added.

OTT apps: COAI bats for 'same service, same rules' under draft telecom Bill

Industry body argues for 'same service, same rules', says current disparities give OTT players privileges but not responsibilities

Govt should not allow backdoor entry to Big Tech for 5G auctions: COAI

The COAI said in a statement that the 5G spectrum should not be provided on an administrative basis as it leads to no business case for the rollout of 5G networks in the country

Captive network a back-door entry to BigTech companies, says COAI

In its guidelines on captive non-public networks, the government has allowed direct allotment of spectrum to enterprises

COAI writes to DoT, demands tough norms for captive private networks

It had written to DoT secretary K Rajaraman in this regard on June 18

COAI names Reliance Jio's Pramod Mittal as Chairperson for 2022-23

Mittal was previously the Vice Chairperson of the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VIL)

DoT ignores telcos' protest, favours 5G spectrum sale for captive networks

Enterprises setting up private captive networks may obtain the spectrum directly from the DoT, says a media report

No reason for direct allocation of 5G spectrum to enterprises: COAI

According to COAI, there is no case to alienate spectrum directly to companies for captive private networks

How prepared are we to roll out next-generation mobile networks?

PM Modi recently said that India is planning to launch 6G services by the end of this decade. But are we ready? While the 5G launch still looks like a distant dream, this report does a reality check