The telecom operators are single-handedly responsible for creating the digital economy at a rapid pace globally. According to a study released by the GSMA on Monday, telcos account for 85% of the total investments that flow into making the mobile internet infrastructure. This is about $109 billion in investments per annum, said the study.
GSMA's latest report said that over $244 billion is the average of the last five years for investments made in mobile internet connectivity infrastructure (including the spending on end-user devices). Of this, over 85% of the amount, which is $109 billion comes from the MNOs (mobile network operators), when the end-user devices are excluded.
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This is an interesting figure to note. The telecom operators in India have been asking the government to ask the OTT (over-the-top) communication players to share a part of their revenues. This is because the telcos are the ones that are investing in the networks so that users can stay connected to each other. However, most of the traffic generated on the networks comes from OTT or internet players, who don't have to invest anything in the mobile networks.
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COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) had previously said that the telecom operators in India had to deploy around Rs 10,000 crore extra for scaling their networks to meet the traffic demands generated by the OTT players. All the while, the telecom tariffs in India are still pretty low compared to the global standards. Thus, to generate returns on their investments, the telcos either need to hike the tariffs. The government hasn't taken the side of the telcos in the revenue sharing ask, yet. In the future, the OTT platforms may or may not come under the regulation of the government, and that would majorly determine whether there will be revenue sharing or not.
