Broadband India Forum Counters Telco Demands on OTT Regulation

Broadband India Forum (BIF) has expressed in its counter comments on the TRAI Consultation Paper titled “Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services, and Selective Banning of OTT Services,” that the demand for network usage fees from OTTs by telecom operators is outdated and would violate net neutrality principles.

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Also Read: TRAI Releases Consultation Paper on Regulatory Framework for OTT Services and Selective Banning

Outdated Network Usage Fee Demand

BIF noted that “Telcos wish to cling to an old, legacy, and obsolescent system of ‘Sending Party Network Pays (SPNP),’ prevalent during the voice telephony era of the 1990s,” when they ask for Network Usage Fees to be paid by the OTTs for carrying the large traffic generated by the former.

BIF has highlighted that the ‘sending-party-network-pays (SPNP)’ principle, which telecom operators are using to justify their demand for network usage fees, was inherent in the old voice telephony system of the 1990s. However, the internet operates differently, with users not only wanting to communicate with one another but also wanting to be always online to connect to content, applications, and services. This is the reason why internet traffic is typically unbalanced between content and application providers and internet access providers.

Also Read: SK Broadband and Netflix Partner for Enhanced Customer Entertainment

South Korea Example

Broadband India Forum has also pointed out that the solitary example of South Korea cited in the case of SPNP is known to have been one with poor outcomes, with the involved parties (SKT and Netflix) mutually agreeing recently to withdraw the agreement between them. BIF has also stated that several small players have had to exit the country due to disadvantage to them from the law.