TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Google’s giant Equiano Internet cable has landed in South Africa

      8 August 2022

      The African tech start-ups eyeing global markets

      8 August 2022

      Karpowership loses bid to overturn environmental ruling

      8 August 2022

      New app launched to tackle potholes in South Africa

      8 August 2022

      Rogue database felled Capitec in its worst-ever IT outage

      7 August 2022
    • World

      Nvidia issues profit warning on slump in demand for graphics cards

      8 August 2022

      Buterin: Mining on Ethereum Classic won’t affect Merge

      8 August 2022

      Musk challenges Twitter CEO to a public debate

      7 August 2022

      Amazon splashes $1.7-billion on Roomba maker iRobot

      5 August 2022

      Nigeria asks Google to block banned groups from YouTube

      5 August 2022
    • In-depth

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022

      Webb telescope’s stunning images of the cosmos

      12 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022

      Demystifying the complexity of AI – fact vs fiction

      6 July 2022

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022
    • Opinion

      SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

      19 July 2022

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Operators sharply divided on OTT regulation

    Operators sharply divided on OTT regulation

    News By Larry Claasen26 January 2016
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Andrew Barendse
    Vodacom’s Andrew Barendse wants greater regulation of over-the-top services

    South African mobile operators MTN, Cell C and Vodacom are split on whether to regulate over-the-top (OTT) services.

    Cell C wants no regulation, Vodacom would like to see some policing of OTT services that compete directly with it, and MTN accepts that OTT providers are a reality but has concerns over some aspects around them.

    Speaking at a parliamentary meeting into OTT services in Cape Town on Tuesday, the operators said they accepted that OTT providers were competing with them but did not want to see them blocked.

    Of all three operators, Vodacom was the most adamant about the need for some kind of regulation.

    Though he was at pains to say the operator welcomed the innovation that OTT services brought, Andrew Barendse, Vodacom’s managing executive of regulatory affairs, said the operator wanted the regulation of OTT services that competed directly with its own products and services.

    The growing popularity of OTT services such as Skype and WhatsApp are eating into the voice and text revenues of the operators as they piggyback on their data networks.

    There is a sense of unease among some operators over this, who believe that OTT providers make money at their expense. Barendse pointed out that apart from OTT companies not rolling out their own infrastructure, they were also not subjected to legal requirements such as the ability of security agencies to monitor their networks, consumer protection legislation and taxation.

    Graham de Vries, MTN South Africa executive for corporate services, had the same concerns as Barendse. But he stopped short of calling for them to be regulated. He instead called on policymakers and regulators to be aware of the issues when it came to considering what action (if any) they would take.

    For his part, Cell C’s chief legal officer, Graham Mackinnon, said he saw any call for the regulation of OTT services as a step backward. Referring directly to Vodacom and MTN, he said it was “a bit rich” that they were asking for protection considering how they used their market power to attempt to squeeze Cell C out of the market.

    Mackinnon said operators had no choice but to adjust to a world where OTT providers were going to be central players in the telecom sector. They should rather adopt economic models that take that into account rather than fighting it.  — © 2016 NewsCentral Media

    Andrew Barendse Cell C Graham de Vries Graham Mackinnon MTN Vodacom
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleChislett stepping down at Autopage
    Next Article OTT providers blast SA’s mobile operators

    Related Posts

    Google’s giant Equiano Internet cable has landed in South Africa

    8 August 2022

    The African tech start-ups eyeing global markets

    8 August 2022

    Karpowership loses bid to overturn environmental ruling

    8 August 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    You don’t need a call centre to take advantage of call centre technology

    5 August 2022

    Black man, you are still on your own

    5 August 2022

    UC&C interoperability offers businesses operational cost relief in tough times

    4 August 2022
    Opinion

    SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

    19 July 2022

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.