NCC to telcos: We can’t regulate OTT now

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said it can’t regulate Over The Top Technology (OTT) for now, refusing the telecom operators’ call that the technology be regulated in the country.

OTT operators are firms like Facebook, WhatsApp, 2go, Instagram and others which ride on social media to reach their audience.

NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman Prof Umar Garba Danbatta disclosed this yesterday when a delegation from the United States Embassy paid a working visit to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

“The operators are saying we should do something about the OTT. That the OTT is riding on their infrastructure to make money and all other. But it will be very difficult to regulate OTT,” Prof Danbatta said.

According to him, though NCC understands the operators’ plight “the truth is that there is nothing we can do for now’’.

The NCC EVC said he had interacted with heads of telecom industry’s regulatory agencies in US and some other advanced economies and was indirectly told that OTT couldn’t be regulated for now.

He also said NCC couldn’t regulate content in the social media as this falls within the jurisdiction of its sister regulatory agency, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

He also told the US embassy delegation which was led by Rachael Atwood Mendiola to convince US investors to come and invest in Nigeria’s telecom industry.