Lack of contribution to network costs from large traffic generating digital players a challenge: COAI

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.