Telecom companies vs OTT companies: The ‘letter war’

It’s once again an open war. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the industry association representing telecom companies in India — Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea — is up in arms against the Broadband India Forum (BIF). The body representing telecom companies is miffed over BIF sending a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) saying that the telcos should also pay the OTT platforms. The BIF letter said that OTT platforms must contribute towards creating and developing digital telecom infrastructure in India in exchange for using the service.

It’s as ridiculous as can be
Responding to the letter, COAI said that this is as ludicrous a suggestion as can be imagined. It termed the decision akin to roads paying vehicles for driving on them. “By a very simple analogy, telecom networks are akin to roadways wherein the services for public consumption — such as public transport vehicles like buses operate — are similar to the OTT service providers.