Bharti Airtel has said that internet companies like Google, Yahoo and Facebook should share revenues with telecom operators and the The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) should impose interconnection charges for data services just like it is applied for voice calls.
“Today, Google, Yahoo and others are enjoying at the cost of network operator. We are the ones investing in setting up data pipes and they make the money. There is interconnection for voice then why not for data,” Jagbir Singh, Director, Network Services Group, Bharti Airtel has said, adding, “Network is capital intensive, we have to pay for spectrum and voice revenue is coming down. At the same time, companies like Google, which have not invested more than a few billion dollars, are enjoying valuations that are ten times that of a traditional telecom player. It’s an unfair game.”
For Airtel, traffic from Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google account for nearly 40 per cent of its overall data traffic and, therefore, wants to get some part of the revenue. Data traffic on Airtel’s 3G network is increasing by 200 per cent and by 100 per cent on 2G. Airtel has launched fourth generation based (4G) mobile data services in Kolkata and Bangalore and is set to launch in Pune and Chandigarh.
