In a bid to encourage local content in the telecommunications industry through Value Added Services, the House of Representatives has initiated a bill for an Act to regulate Value Added Service (VAS) in the sector.
The proposed legislation amongst other things seeks to provide the legal framework with which the Nigerian Communication NCC), can ensure that the current sharing formula between the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), the VAS and content developers and VAS hosting service providers is reviewed upward in line with industry best practice.
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VAS Developers are owners of unique content or application who would also have additional responsibilities for registration of copyright for their VAS /content and its protection against copyright violations and all other related legal issues; obtaining third party authorization for their content/VAS where required and register with Corporate Affairs Commission as a corporate body because the commission would place them under a class license, while mobile network operators will provide two-way termination services to VAS Hosting Service Providers (VHSP’s).
According to Chukwuemeka Ujam, Deputy Chairman, of House Committee on Telecommunications disclosed that the main objective of the bill is to ensure the protection of the Nigerian VAS ecosystem from foreign invasion and exploitation.
Ujam, the sponsor of the legislative framework, who stressed the need to encourage and protect local content in the industry, lamented the current state of affairs in the industry saying that it is “inimical to the development of the sector as it poses great challenges such as discrimination against subscribers; and perpetuation of fraud against the public through shortcodes assigned for Value Added Services among other menaces.
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“There is need for us to develop and encourage local contents in the industry and in doing that, content developers who are the major players in the VAS segment of the industry will be rewarded,” Ujam noted.
The lawmaker also bemoaned practices whereby MNOs bully content providers adding that the bill will ensure that revenue is shared rightly with a view to encouraging local participation and stimulating further growth in the industry. Additionally, the Telecom Value Added Services Regulatory when passed will also ensure strict adherence to contractual terms between and among parties as well as strict adherence to anti-competition and anti-trust rules and regulations.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
