This is as a similar plot is raising protests in South Africa and Zimbabwe by both technology giants and users against regulators.
A report, ‘An Overview of Provision of Over The Top [OTT] Services’ published recently by the Policy, Competition & Economic Analysis Department of the NCC, claims that OTT services were becoming a threat to the traditional telephone network operators.
This development, the report said, is a global issue.
The threat, according to the NCC report, comes from the fact that Internet telephony is not only cheap, and free in some cases, but it also offers many features previously unavailable with telephones, therefore making it more attractive to consumers.
And unlike the traditional telephone network operator, the operators of Internet telephony don’t pay tolls for their services.
Besides, the report said since telecom operators such as MTN, Etisalat, Glo and Airtel do not have control over WhatsApp, BBM, Facebook and the rest of the social media applications, they (the telecom operators) cannot do not generate revenues from services offered through these applications.
The report said, “Many traditional telecom service providers are of the opinion that traditional telephony and SMS revenues are under threat from newer, IP based alternatives like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber etc.
“Similarly, third party web content and social networking companies such as Google and Facebook are increasingly generating huge revenues and driving high levels of data traffic which ride on the broadband networks of traditional telecom operators’.
“To further worsen this issue, the traditional operators still have to make significant investments in upgrading their networks to handle the increasing volume of data generated by the same providers of OTT services.
“Most traditional telephone network service providers therefore argue that unless there is a revenue flow to them from such services, they do not have an incentive to continue to maintain or upgrade the networks,” the report said.
The NCC also believed there is need for some kind of regulation because OTT services portend security risks to the country.
“Because VoIP relies on your Internet connection, it may be vulnerable to many of the same problems that face computers,” the report said.
“Attackers may be able to perform activities such as intercepting communications, eavesdropping, taking control of phones, making fraudulent calls from an account, conducting effective phishing attacks by manipulating one’s caller ID, and causing service to crash.”
Meanwhile, Facebook, Microsoft and Google recently voiced their opposition to possible regulation of over-the-top (OTT) services such as WhatsApp and Skype in South Africa.
Representatives of these companies addressed their concerns at a meeting on OTT regulation at Parliament in Cape Town last month.
The meeting was organised by the Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services after the CEOs of MTN South Africa and Vodacom last year said that OTT services don’t contribute financially to local networks. The two companies also made calls to explore OTT regulation.
At Parliament’s OTT meeting, MTN discussed the issues it has with OTTs, which range from these internet services not paying taxes to South Africa’s government to security around users’ personal information.
But Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda – who is the public policy manager at Google SA – argued against regulation as he said the search giant pays tax in South Africa.
Google operates its voice and text OTT service dubbed ‘Hangouts’ in South Africa and across the globe.
“Content should not be regulated like access,” said Mgwili-Sibanda.
“Services are not networks; there is no evidence that OTTs are harming telco revenues,” Mgwili-Sibanda said.
Microsoft’s legal and corporate affairs director, Siyabonga Madyibi, also criticised any possible move to regulate OTTs in South Africa. Microsoft owns popular voice over internet service Skype.
“Beware using 20th century regulations on internet services,” said Mgwili-Sibanda at the meeting.
“Regulating Skype won’t impact Microsoft, but what about a local innovator? You are effectively killing anyone who wants to break into the market just to protect the revenues of mobile operators,” said Madyibi.
Another global tech player at the meeting on Tuesday was Facebook, which owns instant messaging service WhatsApp.
“WhatsApp operates independently. We do not sell user data; we sell advertising,” said Ebele Okobi, who is the head of public policy for Africa at Facebook.
“We have a symbiotic relationship with operators,” said Okobi.
Okobi went on to say that “applying traditional telecoms regulation will hurt local innovation”.
At the start of the meeting, the Chair of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services, Mmamoloko Kubayi, said the gathering was a meeting and not a hearing into possible OTT regulation in SA.
“Get it clear colleagues; we are not here to stifle competition,” said Kubayi.
However, authorities in Zimbabwe have expressed fear over of social media comments by politicians and the general populace, prompting experts to express concerns over a trend they fear could lead to regulation of over the top services (OTT).
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party has been allegedly displeased by social media comments by former information minister, Jonathan Moyo (current higher education minister) who has fallen out with fellow ministers and officials from the party.
Simon Khaya Moyo, spokesperson in Mugabe’s party, said “the President said we must avoid social media” and added that “issues of transgressions should be brought to the party through relevant” structures.
A telecom consultant in Harare said on Wednesday that the close attention that officials were giving to social media usage could “lead to imposition of laws and policies” to regulate usage.
Moyo is accused of using his Twitter handle to criticise and lash-out at Mugabe’s spokesperson, fellow ministers and other politicians.
“Anyone who uses their real name, image & identity in any media cannot abuse that media without accountability,” Moyo said in one of his numerous tweets this week.
This week, Police Commissioner General, Augustine Chihuri also raised concern over social media abuse in the country. Zimbabwean mobile companies have increasingly turned to OTT services to boost income and cover for declining voice revenues.
“We read a lot of insulting stories in the newspapers everyday. Social media is not to be outdone… I am not a social media person. I would not want to disappoint myself by reading the socalled social media which is full of negative things,” Chihuri said in an address to the police force’s members who departed the country on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
This has prompted the Zanu PF party to put social media abuse on its agenda for the next politburo meeting. Mugabe has previously stated that party members should use party structures to raise grievances and not take issues to social media platforms as this humiliated the party.
“This account defends Pres Mugabe, the Party, Gov & country & opposes secessionists without any apology whatsoever!,” Moyo said in another tweet on Tuesday following criticism that he was using the platform to attack other party and government officials.
The Zimbabwean police commissioner appeared to be discouraging police officers in Zimbabwe from using social media.
Social media has been used to expose dirty goings on in Mugabe’s party through the Baba Jukwa character on Facebook ahead of elections in 2013.
“Some of my police officers are joining social media. They are also getting excitable about it, also writing nonsense on these social media. I urge them to be responsible citizens who contribute to our wellbeing and peace-building,” said Chihuri.
