MUMBAI: Vodafone has said that the government should tax over the top (OTT) players like WhatsApp, Viber, Hike and Facebook as they are getting a "free ride" on telecom networks without paying for spectrum or any other fee.
"We should make sure that there is a level-playing field," Vodafone India MD and CEO Marten Pieters told TOI, voicing his concern against the growing strength of OTT players, while riding the internet network of mobile operators.
While conceding that "technological innovations cannot be stopped", Pieters said a way should be found to ensure that the "burden" of tax and revenue share (paid by telcos) is shared. "We (operators) have to pay taxes, license fee and have to share revenue (with the government). The other guys have a complete free ride."
Growing speed of data and rapidly-rising internet user base have seen a boom in the number of subscribers for services like WhatsApp and Facebook, many of whom count India as one of their biggest markets. However, these companies do not have to pay anything for spectrum, which is one of the biggest costs for mobile operators.
India is believed to be the second-biggest market for Facebook (after the US) with a subscriber base of close to 100 million, while WhatsApp accounts for nearly 60 million user base. Other OTT players like Hike messenger service are also growing rapidly. The Vodafone chief also rued the fact that mobile operators were made answerable on sensitive matters for many of the services offered by the OTT players. "For example, in the case of legal interception, the authorities come to us. Is that fair?"
The growing strength of OTT players is impacting the business of mobile operators. For example, services like WhatsApp have nearly eliminated revenues from SMS, while free calling on Skype and Viber (especially from international markets) is hitting their voice revenues.
The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) president C S Rao said there is no rule to ensure that OTT players provide quality service to customers. "A major regulatory re-alignment is needed when consumers are moving from the minutes-usage era to megabyte-usage era."
Telecom regulator Ttrai is already looking into the issue after operators expressed concern over the matter. It recently held a seminar to take stock of the situation. "The telecom service providers want a sort of discussion on treatment of OTT services like WhatsApp, Skype and others, which are actually cutting into their revenue," Trai secretary Sudhir Gupta said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/t...w/44820006.cms
"We should make sure that there is a level-playing field," Vodafone India MD and CEO Marten Pieters told TOI, voicing his concern against the growing strength of OTT players, while riding the internet network of mobile operators.
While conceding that "technological innovations cannot be stopped", Pieters said a way should be found to ensure that the "burden" of tax and revenue share (paid by telcos) is shared. "We (operators) have to pay taxes, license fee and have to share revenue (with the government). The other guys have a complete free ride."
Growing speed of data and rapidly-rising internet user base have seen a boom in the number of subscribers for services like WhatsApp and Facebook, many of whom count India as one of their biggest markets. However, these companies do not have to pay anything for spectrum, which is one of the biggest costs for mobile operators.
India is believed to be the second-biggest market for Facebook (after the US) with a subscriber base of close to 100 million, while WhatsApp accounts for nearly 60 million user base. Other OTT players like Hike messenger service are also growing rapidly. The Vodafone chief also rued the fact that mobile operators were made answerable on sensitive matters for many of the services offered by the OTT players. "For example, in the case of legal interception, the authorities come to us. Is that fair?"
The growing strength of OTT players is impacting the business of mobile operators. For example, services like WhatsApp have nearly eliminated revenues from SMS, while free calling on Skype and Viber (especially from international markets) is hitting their voice revenues.
The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) president C S Rao said there is no rule to ensure that OTT players provide quality service to customers. "A major regulatory re-alignment is needed when consumers are moving from the minutes-usage era to megabyte-usage era."
Telecom regulator Ttrai is already looking into the issue after operators expressed concern over the matter. It recently held a seminar to take stock of the situation. "The telecom service providers want a sort of discussion on treatment of OTT services like WhatsApp, Skype and others, which are actually cutting into their revenue," Trai secretary Sudhir Gupta said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/t...w/44820006.cms