Mumbai: India’s telcos are set to once again push the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to evolve a mechanism for making over-the-top (OTT) apps – that generate maximum data internet traffic -- pay for creation of 5G digital network infrastructure in the country.

The telcos are set to draw the government and the sector regulator’s attention to the raging debate underway in the European Union (EU) and Brazil on the need for OTT streaming/communication service providers – who benefit the most from use of telecom networks -- to make a fair contribution for building mobile broadband connectivity infrastructure worth billions of dollars, amid rising costs.

India’s telecom companies will point to the ongoing global consultations initiated by the European Commission (EC) and Brazil’s telecoms regulator, Anatel, and also underline the need for OTTs generating maximum traffic on Indian telecom networks to make a contribution to the required infrastructure investments, based on a fair share principle. More so, since the rollout of 5G networks is slated to drive exponential growth in data traffic and entail even heavier investments in connectivity infrastructure in future.