Telecom executives eye change with entry of OTT players

Former Vodafone India head Marten Pieters on Thursday said telecom sector in India has to change in wake of a different scenario created after the entry of over-the-top (OTT) players but needs time to adjust.

"OTT is a serious worry. About 85 per cent of revenue of operators in India is voice. If that goes away, it's fatal. Revenues are moving away to content and data from voice," Pieters said during the CEOs' roundtable organised by industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

The industry should be given some time to adjust to the changing scenario. "We are not denying the new reality but we are just saying, give us some more time to adjust. This discussion needs to be pondered upon. Should operators be worried? Yes, because this is a capital intensive industry," he added. Bharti Airtel Joint-Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, India and South Asia, Gopal Vittal said the industry wants a level playing field and same rules should be applied for same set of services.

"We believe that OTT services should not be licenced. We dont want to stifle innovation that is happening in the OTT space," Vittal said.

The telecom operators have been asking for regulation of OTT players such as Skype, Whatsapp and Viber. A lively debate is on over net neutrality. The telecom department has set up an internal committee to look into it.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a consultation process for regulation of OTT players. But the recommendations are yet to come. TRAI received over a million comments on its consultation paper.

COAI also appointed Idea Cellular MD Himanshu Kapania as Chairman and Gopal Vittal as Vice Chairman of the industry body.