Concerns over regulatory framework in telecoms sector

The players and regulator of the telecoms sector are having headache because of how to adapt a regulatory framework to the new services convergence.The convergence of voice, video and data at work and recreation has placed enormous pressure on the need for both service providers to sit and discuss who regulates what.Convergence has been described […]

The players and regulator of the telecoms sector are having headache because of how to adapt a regulatory framework to the new services convergence.
The convergence of voice, video and data at work and recreation has placed enormous pressure on the need for both service providers to sit and discuss who regulates what.
Convergence has been described as coming together of different technological platforms, which were previously viewed as separate and distinct in both the commercial and the technological sense, together on a single platform.
Example of this convergence reality is the provision of Internet access and television service to mobiles and ‘triple-play’ services of voice, data and video by the Internet Service providers.
All these three services are now being enjoyed by Nigerian telecoms consumers directly on a single platform, raising the questions on who regulates television services on mobile devices, for instance.
It is instructive that the biggest ISPs in Nigeria currently are the four Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) operators – MTN, Glo, Airtel and Etisalat- which have been largely made possible due to technology convergence, as telecoms firms now deploy transport Internet protocol- infrastructures.
This regulatory concern might be connected to the basis of traditional interconnection regulation which was established for voice services, where rates were generally time-based. Whereas, converged services are based on transport via a common IP protocol, interconnection rights and new interconnection scheme with different types of access and charges to ensure that everyone can interconnect irrespective of the type of network services they are connected to.
NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Eugene Juwah at a technology dinner organised by the Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE recently in Lagos, said as convergence grows rapidly in the telecommunications industry, it raises regulatory challenges given the merging of firms and facilities.
Juwah, who spoke on the future of telecoms services in a convergence era, said the challenge is raised because traditional regulatory framework were designed for an era when clear functional differences existed between services and infrastructure and were not designed for ‘this new environment of converged networks and services, where functional differences no longer exist.’
According to the NCC boss, it is a known fact that technology is always faster than regulation, and convergence is moving ever ahead at a rapid pace and there is a need to adapt regulatory frameworks to the new services convergence reality and the growth of various telecoms services such as Voice Over Internet protocol (VoIP), video sharing sites and new players such as over the top (OTT) operators.
He also noted that mechanisms to ensure flexibility in the regulations are also required through continuous engagement with other regulators as well as stakeholders in the telecommunications industry to ensure that any framework that results actually supports full competition and ensures transparency and accountability.
The NCC boss said, “IT is also pertinent to note that an effective restructuring of the regulatory framework that addresses the challenges through up by convergence requires a solution that addresses all key areas in the telecommunications industry.”
But despite these concerns, industry analysts identify advantages of convergence currently ongoing in the telecommunications industry.
According to Engr. Titi Omo-Ettu, even though, the Juwah’s submission was meant to address the academia who gave him the topic, however, he wasn’t addressing the industry.
 “Ours is to begin to look at even the other side of every good issue. He was saying that there are a few things that make regulation difficult and he identified them but those things are intellectual and I don’t think that they are for common audience, they are not for everybody. They are for those people who invited him there when we invite you for such lecture we don’t allow people to ask question”, he said.
Also, a telecoms engineer and the CEO of AAA Infotech, Mr. Akin Akinbo sees convergence as a platform that creates possibilities for companies to develop and deliver services across technology channels, and for users to get access to new kinds of communication and media services.
He said convergence also promotes the expansion of competition, allowing the introduction of inter modal competition where networks and technologies compete with each others with no technological or regulatory restrictions.