Therefore, operators are complaining that services offered by Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype, Viber, among others are putting pressure on the revenue stream of traditional telecom service providers and there is outrage globally about the activities of these modern day service providers who have been accused of “eating the lunch of the traditional operators” as they (OTT service providers) make money out of the investment and sweat of others.
Addressing a gathering consisting mainly of youths, the type who from their look and dress sense, have no room for traditions and the hermetic strictures of yore, mostly the Facebook and Whatsapp denizens, Danbatta noted that as a responsible regulator, what the Commission wanted to achieve with the document was to elevate the level and quality of discourse.
Danbatta expressed satisfaction with the reactions to the document so far but advised that more attention should be paid to reading the complete document in order to come to full understanding of what the Commission is saying about OTT.
Reiterating his earlier position that the Commission has no plans to regulate OTT services, Danbatta noted that one salient point in the conclusion of the document is that while acknowledging the fears of traditional telecom service providers that traditional telephony and SMS revenues are under threat from newer, IP based alternatives like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, etc. the document also recommended that the Commission should encourage network providers in Nigeria to innovate and explore more efficient business models that would enable them compete favourably with OTT service providers.