Deutsche Telekom CEO blasts OTT: generating 80% of traffic but not paying a penny for infrastructure

According to Mobile World Live, Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheon Hoettges is angry that current regulations fail to classify companies such as WhatsApp and Microsoft as communications vendors, arguing that these OTT players generate a lot of network traffic but do nothing to pay for infrastructure and expansion costs.

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During his keynote at the 2021 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​he asked attendees whether it was fair that network operators had to pick up the tab when WhatsApp was creating more value for its parent company Facebook's business by increasing data loads.

“How is it possible that 80% of traffic is generated by OTT players and they don’t pay a penny for the use of infrastructure or build-out costs in exchange for all the value of data from us consumers?” he asked.

Hottges further questioned why regulators did not consider Microsoft as a communications platform, noting that the company was "growing its network and connecting edge networks with fiber networks to provide connectivity to customers."

In an impassioned speech, he also called for a level playing field, which would require "brave politicians to set a vision for Europe".

“If we don’t change the setup, Europe will fall further behind. The US has a single market, Asia and China have very clear regulations. In Europe, we have 27 regulations, no clear rules on data governance, no clear rules on data privacy. Europe has to wake up and change the way they promote digitalization.”

Vision 2030

In his keynote speech, Hottges urged the wider mobile industry to develop a vision for the next decade, nearly a year and a half after playing a central role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that new challenges would emerge as connectivity became a "basic human right" by 2030.

He said Deutsche Telekom had done good work in developing its 2030 vision and was working to transform its business model to be more software-driven.

Most importantly, Hottges believes operators need to change their mindset and be less concerned with owning all the parts of the network and just “orchestrate it in the right way.”