• Latest
  • All
  • How To
whatsapp blue ticks

#SaveWhatsapp South Africans are not Amused at Plans to Regulate OTTs

January 18, 2016
Samsung QLED TVs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

May 9, 2025
Apple Smart Glasses

Apple Is Making Its Own Chip for Smart Glasses Coming by 2027

May 9, 2025
Safaricom

Safaricom Breaks Barriers with $3B Milestone and Bold Ethiopia Play

May 9, 2025
Private Number calls

How to Handle Private Number Calls in Kenya

May 8, 2025
DHgate Tablet Cases deals
Kenya Power EV charging stations

Kenya Power Rolls Out 45 EV Charging Stations Across the Country

May 8, 2025
Bayobab

MTN’s Bayobab Connects Uganda and Kenya with New Fiber Route

May 8, 2025
Airtel Africa Starlink partnership

Starlink Is Expanding in Africa Through New Airtel Partnership

May 8, 2025
Android FreeType patch

Android May 2025 Security Update Fixes Critical FreeType Zero-Click Vulnerability

May 7, 2025
worldcoin kenya

Court Ruling Orders Worldcoin to Delete All Kenyan Biometric Records

May 7, 2025
smartphones-2024

Smartphone Market Recovers Slightly in Q1 2025 With Apple, Vivo Leading Gains

May 7, 2025
GTA 6 Trailer 2

GTA 6 Trailer 2: Rockstar Confirms Release Date and Dual Protagonists

May 7, 2025
YouTube Premium Duo

YouTube Now Lets Two People Share a Premium Plan

May 6, 2025
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
No Result
View All Result

#SaveWhatsapp South Africans are not Amused at Plans to Regulate OTTs

Eric Wainaina by Eric Wainaina
January 18, 2016
in News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
259
0
whatsapp blue ticks

Whatsapp-vs-Telegram-590x266

In June 2015, Airtel Africa CEO Christian De Faria argued that over-the-top content providers such as Facebook, Telegram, Google and Whatsapp should be regulated and forced to pay a fee for utilization of infrastructure put in place by mobile companies. The argument stemmed from the realization that OTT services were increasingly biting into the revenues of Telcos. The biggest casualty has been SMS revenue as users continually adopt instant messaging as their preferred mode of communication. OTT services such as Viber, BBM and Whatsapp allow users to VOIP calls further reducing voice revenues for Telcos.

A similar argument was posted in South Africa by the two largest carriers MTN and Vodacom. Subsequently, the South African parliament through the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications called for hearings to be held on 26th January 2016. Key among the issues to be discussed in the hearings include the definition of OTT services in law i.e. as a telecoms service provider (voice/data) or a telecoms infrastructure company.  This will then determine the licensing and regulatory obligations of these companies (if they will be any) as well as policy and regulatory interventions. Further, the hearings will discuss the impact of OTTs on the competition.

The South African public is not amused by these hearings or their proposals and have thus launched an online petition calling upon the Parliamentary committee to reject these proposals. The petition #SaveWhatsapp has also taken over social media platforms in South Africa mostly calling upon users to sign. The petition created by All4Women Magazine has attracted nearly 12,000 supporters over 4 days with a set goal of 15,000.

Just last week, a similar debate took over social media in Kenya after the Kenya Film and Classification board sought to regulate Netflix content in Kenya. CS ICT, Joe Mucheru and Communications Authority of Kenya Director General Francis Wangusi have since clarified that Kenya has no capacity to regulate the internet meaning OTTs in Kenya are free to run wild. It will be interesting to see the outcome of these hearings but my bet is that SA wont go the Morocco way, where all VOIP services over 3G and 4G are completely blocked.

 

SendShare147Tweet92
Eric Wainaina

Eric Wainaina

Eric writes on business, govt policy and enterprise tech.

Related Posts

Samsung QLED TVs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

May 9, 2025
Apple Smart Glasses

Apple Is Making Its Own Chip for Smart Glasses Coming by 2027

May 9, 2025
Safaricom

Safaricom Breaks Barriers with $3B Milestone and Bold Ethiopia Play

May 9, 2025
Private Number calls

How to Handle Private Number Calls in Kenya

May 8, 2025
Kenya Power EV charging stations

Kenya Power Rolls Out 45 EV Charging Stations Across the Country

May 8, 2025
Bayobab

MTN’s Bayobab Connects Uganda and Kenya with New Fiber Route

May 8, 2025

Latest

Samsung QLED TVs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

May 9, 2025
Apple Smart Glasses

Apple Is Making Its Own Chip for Smart Glasses Coming by 2027

May 9, 2025
Safaricom

Safaricom Breaks Barriers with $3B Milestone and Bold Ethiopia Play

May 9, 2025
Private Number calls

How to Handle Private Number Calls in Kenya

May 8, 2025
Kenya Power EV charging stations

Kenya Power Rolls Out 45 EV Charging Stations Across the Country

May 8, 2025
Bayobab

MTN’s Bayobab Connects Uganda and Kenya with New Fiber Route

May 8, 2025

Best devices

budget smartwatches 2025

Best Budget Smartwatches To Buy in Kenya 2025

February 13, 2025

Best Infinix Smartphones To Buy in Kenya 2024

February 13, 2025

Best Laptops for Battery Life in 2024

August 21, 2024

Best “Battery Warrior” Smartphones To Buy in 2024

August 22, 2024

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

May 9, 2025

Apple Is Making Its Own Chip for Smart Glasses Coming by 2027

May 9, 2025

Techweez is a fast growing influential source of technology news, reviews and analysis by leading tech geeks in the industry.

Follow Us

Editorials

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

Trump’s Tariffs Will Be the End of Affordable Tech

5 Ways to Prep Your Tech for Resale

The Weaponization of PDFs: How Cybercriminals Are Exploiting a Trusted Format

Introducing A Brainbox Quiz: Techweez’s Monthly Trivia Night!

5 Most Reliable Virtual Dollar Card Providers in Nigeria

More News

Starlink Is Expanding in Africa Through New Airtel Partnership

Android May 2025 Security Update Fixes Critical FreeType Zero-Click Vulnerability

Court Ruling Orders Worldcoin to Delete All Kenyan Biometric Records

Smartphone Market Recovers Slightly in Q1 2025 With Apple, Vivo Leading Gains

GTA 6 Trailer 2: Rockstar Confirms Release Date and Dual Protagonists

YouTube Now Lets Two People Share a Premium Plan

  • Terms Of Use
  • Techweez Brand
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!

Hey there! Just a heads-up: we're big fans of cookies - both the digital and edible kind! 🍪 We use our cookies and some from third parties to ensure your browsing experience on our site is smooth sailing and secure.

 

But wait, there's more! We also use cookies to gather stats and insights on how you navigate our site. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at your digital adventures!

 

Don't worry, you're in control. You can adjust your cookie settings anytime to suit your preferences. Feeling curious? Dive into our Privacy Policy for all the juicy details. Happy browsing! 🚀

Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
  • Automotive
  • Entertainment

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.