Some kind of regulation pertaining to over the top (OTT) services has been on the cards for some time, and recent moves by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee to start discussions around the subject are not necessarily the result of lobbying.
There has been some confusion in the market recently about the whole issue of OTT but Tshepo Ramodibe, executive head: corporate affairs at Vodacom, says all the telcos agreed that some form of regulation for these services should be considered.
“Vodacom confirms that it did not lobby for the hearings initiated by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee,” he says. “Even so, Vodacom will attend.
“Vodacom supports an open Internet and solutions that allow all the players to work together in the interest of the broader public.”
Ramodibe adds that the telcos are themselves regulated and are held to account if there are issues with the network, hence a need to ensure that OTT services are held to a quality of service standard.