Telcos want TRAI to overlook the letter from start-ups regarding network fees
By MYBRANDBOOK
In a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has urged the regulator to ignore a letter petition signed by 128 start-up founders like Nithin Kamath, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, and Sameer Nigam. In September, various start-up founders had signed a letter petition, addressed to the TRAI which advocated against the telecom companies' demand for OTT (over-the-top) players to pay network usage fees to telcos to compensate for the costs incurred by telcos to develop and maintain large networks.
The letter had argued that such demand by telcos was tantamount to “rent-seeking” and that “overregulation of internet services being described as OTT services, which may have discriminatory consequences”. It also said that such a mechanism would tilt the balance away from young start-ups and be in favour of large tech players who can afford to pay such compensation to telcos.
Other than being inconsistent with the start-up India initiative, the latter claimed that such a compensation mechanism would be in breach of well-founded principles of net neutrality.
The COAI letter claims that far from hurting start-ups, such a network usage fee would work to their advantage. The letter recalled how telcos had earlier proposed to exempt start-ups and MSMEs from payment of such fees.
The telcos further reasoned that post the exemption, the levy of such a network fee would help enhance telecom infrastructure, which in turn would help start-ups and MSMEs deliver better quality services.
The telcos further wrote in the letter that an "equitable contribution to infrastructure costs" by large traffic generators would help in ensuring better network quality and expansive outreach of services, which would also aid the Govt’s efforts towards social upliftment.
On the issue of net neutrality, the telcos submitted that it had no nexus with the fair share compensation sought by telecom companies. The letter claims, "Telecom Service Providers are not asking for any price differentiation for similarly placed entities and this perception being propagated by certain entities is a grave misconception and myth.
Telecom companies assured in their letter, "All startups/MSMEs/low usage internet companies will enjoy the same quality of service as the LTGs, without any discrimination."
BREAKING NEWS
TECHNO TRENDS
Nazara and ONDC set to transform in-game monetization with ‘
Nazara Technologies has teamed up with the Open Network for Digital Comme...
Jio Platforms and NICSI to offer cloud services to government
In a collaborative initiative, the National Informatics Centre Services In...
BSNL awards ₹5,000 Cr Project to RVNL-Led Consortium
A syndicate led by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (abbreviated as RVNL), along wi...
Pinterest tracks users without consent, alleges complaint
A recent complaint alleges that Pinterest, the popular image-sharing platf...
E-Magazine
TECHNOTAINMENT
Netflix adds 'Moments' feature for saving, sharing scenes from
Netflix has introduced a new “Moments” feature on its mobile app, whic
Jacqueline Fernandez come together with YouTuber Mr. Beast for
Jacqueline Fernandez has partnered with American YouTuber Mr. Beast to b
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Visa elevates Rishi Chhabra as new Country Manager for India
Rishi holds a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from The Ohio State Univ
Genesys welcomes Albert Nel as Senior VP and Regional Sales Le
Genesys continues to deepen its investment in the APAC region. Earlier this
OPEN YOUR EYES
INTERVIEWS
AMD Pensando driving innovation in the DPU architecture space
AMD Pensando stands out in the DPU (Data Processing Unit) market with its u
Autodesk continually pushing the boundaries in the Design and
Autodesk’s vision is of a better world designed and made for all. It inte
HOT PICK
SonicWall Launches TZ80: A Powerful Solution for Remote Office
SonicWall announced today the launch of the TZ80, a groundbreaking securit
Gigabyte X3D Turbo: A Gaming Revolution
GIGABYTE X3D Turbo Mode is a cutting-edge feature that unifies cores distr
MAKE IN INDIA BRANDS
TALLY SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
DRUVA SOFTWARE PVT. LTD.
WIPRO LTD.
POLYCAB INDIA PVT. LTD
EMINENT CIO'S OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA : SHAILENDER KUMAR
Shailender Kumar is senior vice president and regional managing direct...
Icons Of India : NANDAN NILEKANI
Nandan Nilekani is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Infosys Technologies...
Icons Of India : AMIT CHADHA
Amit Chadha serves as the CEO and Managing Director of L&T Technology ...
PARTNER SPEAKERS
PSU
C-DAC - Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
C-DAC is uniquely positioned in the field of advanced computing...
ECIL - Electronics Corporation of India Limited
ECIL is distinguished by its diverse technological capabilities and it...
PFC - Power Finance Corporation Ltd
PFC is a leading financial institution in India specializing in power ...
VIDEOS
Top 25 Brands
Global Indian industry
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Sundar Pichai, CEO- Alphabet Inc.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc.,...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - NEAL MOHAN, CEO - Youtube
Neal Mohan, the CEO of YouTube, has a bold vision for the platform’s...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Aman Bhutani, CEO, GoDaddy
Aman Bhutani, the self-taught techie and CEO of GoDaddy, oversees a co...
STARNITE AWARDS 2024
ITFORUM 2024
CMO of the Year
WOMEN LEADERSHIP
IMAGE GALLERY
TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY
MORE VIDEOS
ADVERTISEMENTS
TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION
UNICORNS REVOLUTIONISING
