OVER THE TOP (OTT) SERVICES

Transcription

1 OVER THE TOP (OTT) SERVICES dr Tatjana Cvetković, Head advisor Marija Rajković, M.Sc.E.E, Advisor RATEL - Electronic Communication Networks

2 OTT SERVICES (1) OTT services content, service or an application that is provided to the end user over the public Internet (BEREC). OTT doesn t refer to a particular type of service, but to a method of provision over the public Internet. This provision generally occurs without involvement of the IAP in the control or distribution of the services.

3 OTT Services include: OTT SERVICES (2) OTT Communications (Voice/ Video Calling, chatting services and Chat applications Viber, Skype, WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, etc); OTT Media (Video streaming services - YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc); Other OTT services (e-commerce, advertisement, etc)

4 OTT SERVICES (3)

5 OTT participants vs. Telco operators (1) OTT services are exponentially growing; OTT participants: Have the capacity to take the global market (lower cost, innovative services increasing loyal user base); Do not invest in the networks built by operators to enable end-user access to services; Not required to purchase a license in order to operate and offer services; Do not have to provide any QoS guarantees.

6 OTT participants vs. Telco operators (2) Telecom operators are territorially limited (network); Required to purchase a license in order to operate and offer services; Network infrastructure investments/technology investments; Efficient & effective resource usage; Complying with strict rules regarding Quality of Service (QoS) obligations for the offering services.

7 OTT services impact on the telecom market (1) Most expanding OTT services - Voice and Mobile Messaging Apps (MMAs); Telecom operators average monthly revenues/user are decreasing throughout almost all services, except data transmission used by OTT market participants; OTT service broadening -> faster Internet demands for end users at more affordable prices.

8 OTT services impact on the telecom market (2) Telecom. operators have not found a way to compete with OTT market participants; Risk for telecommunication operators; The role of regulation(which at the moment only applies to telecom operators) is crucial;

9 OTT services impact on the telecom market (3) Telecom operators have to conduct: Business models/strategies changing; Offer their own solutions in response to OTT solutions: Providing services independently ( including connection and data transfer), Developing their own applications that can compete with present OTT applications, Different forms of partnership with OTT providers (mutually beneficial).

10 Regulating OTT services (1) Network operators migrate to NGN -> voice services will become software applications riding over the network. These changes are disruptive and inconvenient for those with a stake in existing arrangements. Regulators generally support innovation. They prevent fixed and mobile operators from blocking or degrading competing services.

11 Regulating OTT services (2) According to a current regulatory framework (2009) : Differences in the regulatory treatment of ECS and OTT services; Blurry definition of the ECS - a service normally provided for remuneration which consist wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals, but excludes services providing, or exercising editorial control, over content ; NRAs have a lot of flexibility for interpretation;

12 Regulating OTT services (3) Technical interpretation -> favoring the nonregulation of OTT services; Types of OTT services: OTT service that qualifies as an ECS (ViberOut, SkypOut, ); OTT service that is not an ECS but potentially competes with an ECS (Skyp, Viber, WhatsUp, GoogleTalk ); OTT services that don not compete with ECS(social platforms, e-commerce, search engines)

13 Current regulatory imbalances (1)

14 Current regulatory imbalances (2)

15 Objectives of the new regulation (1) With a draft ECC, EC suggested an amended ECS definition, with following categories: Internet Access Services(defined in Net Neutrality Regulation EU/2015/2120); Interpersonal Communications Services (ICS); Other services.

16 Objectives of the new regulation (2)

17 Objectives of the new regulation (3) Create regulatory framework supporting telecom operators and innovation of OTT players; Functional interpretation vs. technical interpretation; Telco operators cannot be fully satisfied with the current draft minimal regulation for some OTT services (instant messaging services vs. SMS services);

18 OTT in the Republic of Serbia (1) Regulations in Serbia - the current Law does not include the OTT services; RATEL is registering OTT operators because they are making income by providing services; Registered OTT operators ( ): 32 VoIP operators; 8 Media distribution operators;

19 OTT in the Republic of Serbia (2) APPs with a pre-paid solution for watching media content on smart devices: Pink Media Group KlikPink; D3GO SBB; MTS TV GO Telekom Srbija; Orion TV Orion Telekom... APPs for voice telephony: OrionRing+; Unifon...

20 Conclusions OTT services are growing exponentially; Higher consumer demands on bandwidth; OTT services are not like-for-like substitute for ECS; Business potential for telecom operators. Telecom operators can sustain their revenues with flat-rates, but gain new users using partnership strategies with OTT providers. If the ECC is adopted by EU, the effect of new regulation will have effect in mid 2019, after implementation into national Law in each Member State.

21 Thank you for your attention! REGULATORY AGENCY FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND POSTAL SERVICES - RATEL Palmotićeva 2, Belgrade Serbia