Adoption of OTT Will Ground Telecoms Operations, Operators Cry Out

• Adoption of OTT Will Ground Telecoms Operations, Operators Cry Out

Telecoms subscribers under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) have again raised the alarm that the increasing adoption of Over the Top Technology (OTT) services, being rendered by social network operators, using voice and instant messaging, will cripple telecoms business in Nigeria, if unchecked.

The OTT services are rendered by social network providers who ride on the infrastructure of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) like MTN, Globacom, Airtel, among other GSM operators, to offer free voice and instant massaging services such as: WhatsApp, WeChat, Skype, Facebook, Viber, Imo, at no cost to the subscribers.

Chairman of ALTON, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, who raised the alarm, said the social network operators do not invest in infrastructure, but ride on the infrastructure of MNOs to provide free services to customers at the detriment of MNOs, who have invested so much to build their infrastructure and are still investing in the maintenance of such telecoms infrastructure.

He said the new development is causing MNOs to lose revenue strings hitherto coming from their voice and data services, because subscribers now prefer to patronise the social network operators who provide the services at no cost to the subscriber, yet they ride on the MNOs infrastructure to provide the free voice and instant messaging services.

According to Adebayo, “The increasing adoption of OTT applications by telecom subscribers negatively impact on incoming international traffic as well as SMS at huge cost to the telecoms operators, but revenue to OTT service providers.

“OTT players also hold much customers’ personal data they can use for any desired purpose without risk of being sanctioned by the government while Telcos are not permitted to use or disclose subscriber information to third party.”

Adebayo said current data shows that voice minutes have been declining due to impact of OTT. Voice Minutes has been declining while voice over Internet (VoIP), which the social network operators provide, has been increasing, and OTT Data flux has been increasing as shown with the 2016 data.

He said traditional telecoms operators are losing money due to this trend, and called for urgent action to save the operators further loss due to activities of OTT players who do not invest in infrastructure.

Comparing OTT and Mobile Network Operations, Adebayo said OTT Operators offer the same services as the operators, but argued that their services are neither subject to licensing under the NCA nor have any contractual obligation with telecommunication operators in terms of interconnection.

He said the traditional telecoms operators have contributed so much to the Nigerian economy since the inception of GSM in 2001, and should not be allowed to go under. Telecoms has contributed over $68 billion to foreign direct investment FDI in the past 16 years, and also a major employer of labour having created over 30,000 direct job opportunities and over 500,000 indirect job opportunities.

The OTT players have no traceable address in the country, which makes little or no contribution to the nation’s direct economy either in employment generation, payment of taxes, among others, Adebayo said.