Operators to enjoy wider access berth in NCC new regulation strategy

NIGERIAN Communications Commission (NCC) has said that telecommunications operators will enjoy wider access in its Over-The-Top (OTT) policy.

The OTT’s regulation strategy was contained in a report issued by the commission’s Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis Department. The report was titled: “An Overview of Provision of the Over-The- Top (OTT) Services”.

According to the report, the insurance of guidelines on international Gateway Access and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for the Nigerian Telecommunication Industry is in line with one of the mandates of NCC of issuing communication licenses for the operation and provision of communication services.

The report said it was the duty of the commission to determine the eligibility criteria and other general terms and conditions of licenses.

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“It is the expectation of the commission that the networks of licensees operating under full Gateway and International Data Access (IDA) licenses may convey data, voice and video signals either in their natural forms or in digitised formats.

“Operators of these gateways may also inter-work and exchange information by using appropriate protocol and signaling conversion devices.

“The IDA license is issued as a standalone license and is not to be tied to any specific transmission medium for the purpose of conveying out-bound or in-bound traffic hence grants automatic authorisation.

The report further stated that while the license was meant to cover provision of VolP services, it did explicitly address the current challenges and threats pose by the growth and uptake of these services over the traditional telephone networks.