Large OTTs contributing to digital infra creation won't raise costs for end users: GSMA's Gorman
digital infrastructure that they use to generate large revenue, a top executive at global telecom industry body GSMA said, adding that a revenue share with telcos won’t lead to higher content costs for consumers.
Julian Gorman, head of Asia Pacific at GSMA, told ET that the increasing demand for content is pushing telcos to make higher investments in expanding the digital infrastructure, leading to an investment gap, which needs to be addressed at a global level.
“The concept of fair share is being discussed broadly across the world… I think the challenge, the overall problem is how the countries in the world build the infrastructure to support the digital future,” said Gorman.
India’s rise to be a global telecom statesman is also putting it at the forefront of this debate.
“It’s clear that there is much more momentum in India…Some of the big global telecom statesman-type people that guide the world are leading that discussion. And it’s right for India to be a part of that leadership discussion, given its ambition to become a world leader by 2030,” he added.
The debate arises amidst calls by telecom operators to let large traffic generators (LTGs) share the cost of building the digital network with telcos. In a white paper released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents India’s top telcos, telecom operators argued that there has been a sharp spike in capital expenditure in network enhancements post pandemic due to a surge in data traffic.
“From 2022 onwards, the infrastructure
