WhatsApp regulation in SA – what Vodacom and MTN really want

What a joke.

MTN citing "Legal intercept – Rica. Another issue not covered in Icasa’s table is the legal intercept regulations, also known as Rica. Under these regulations, operators must have systems in place that let the government intercept communications on their networks – provided an interception order is served. South Africa networks must comply with, while WhatsApp doesn’t have to, according to MTN and Vodacom".

Remind me why MTN was fined in Nigeria... :whistling:

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country's telecoms regulator, had in October fined the firm for missing a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards, citing security concerns in a country plagued by frequent kidnappings and an extremist Islamist insurgency Boko Haram. http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2...lecoms-giant-MTN-pay-fine-as-deadline-expires
 
The only way to "regulate" any of this is to shut the internet down. These fools obviously have no idea of how the internet works.
 
So what? We don't care how you feel Vodascum & EmptyN, big cry babies
 
Waiting for Jannie's opinion :whistling: He seems to have a totally different take on this subject.
 
.... I do not like this Censorship the South African internet one bit
 
All bollocks. These are free, effectively free or dirt cheap services. QoS, Universal Service and the CPA are meaningless.
 
We all know what they really want, the thing is not all of us enjoy being rammed in that particular orifice even harder ... :whistling:
 
Sounds like sour grapes.

But I'm sure the reps will be around soon to tell us this article is not what Vodacom want.
 
Slootvreter said:
Yeah sure. They want the money.
Click to expand...
This fight is over money - plain and simple.

The networks conveniently forget that these services are responsible for increased revenue due to increased data usage.
(remember you pay for received data as well)

Taxation Subject to tax regime
That's an issue for SARS not MTN/VodaCom.
Do MTN/VodaCom pay taxes on:
a)Pay tax on accounts of R20,000 charged for OOB data (R2,000/GB) to unsuspecting consumers.
b)Pay tax on expiry of 30 day data (my petrol does not expire after 30 days)
c)Pay tax on roaming rates of R351,000/GB

Quality of Service / Subject to QoS standards / No QoS standards
Many voice calls I make/receive have poor quality and get dropped.
If the OOT services have poor QoS, consumers will switch.
OOT services reputation makes sure that QoS is good.

Interconnection / Mandated in terms of the law / No interconnection requirements
We pay for sent and received data.
 
Just been thinking.

Regulation cannot stand when net neutrality is taken into account.

How does one justify the separation of content. Ok maybe we can use the internet for email only and nothing else.
No research no education no adult entertainment no videos anything else that is free or cheap cannot be offered to the public.
 
whatwhat said:
Sounds like sour grapes.

But I'm sure the reps will be around soon to tell us this article is not what Vodacom want.
Click to expand...

Ok, good, because I was starting to question my own comprehension skills in that other thread -where it was claimed that vodacom had nothing to do with it. :erm:

But here it is...again:

Vodacom and MTN called for over-the-top (OTT) services to be regulated in South Africa to ensure a “level playing field”.
Click to expand...

That is pronounced "voh-dah-comm," right? Just wanna make sure :D

(Admittedly, I didn't read the whole article...because...BS-whining-operators.)
 
skeptic_SA said:
What a joke.

MTN citing "Legal intercept – Rica. Another issue not covered in Icasa’s table is the legal intercept regulations, also known as Rica. Under these regulations, operators must have systems in place that let the government intercept communications on their networks – provided an interception order is served. South Africa networks must comply with, while WhatsApp doesn’t have to, according to MTN and Vodacom".

Remind me why MTN was fined in Nigeria... :whistling:

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country's telecoms regulator, had in October fined the firm for missing a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards, citing security concerns in a country plagued by frequent kidnappings and an extremist Islamist insurgency Boko Haram. http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2...lecoms-giant-MTN-pay-fine-as-deadline-expires
Click to expand...

MTN stuffed up, got klapped with a massive fine. Which they'll pay at some point. But they could be fined because they have license obligations.

What will happen if WA voice goes down for 2 weeks, as an example? Or they don't comply with existing legal intercept laws?

Can government fine them? And will they pay?

So your example actually support the case government is putting forward.
 
jannievanzyl said:
What will happen if WA voice goes down for 2 weeks, as an example? Or they don't comply with existing legal intercept laws?

Can government fine them? And will they pay?

So your example actually support the case government is putting forward.
Click to expand...

That would be WA problem of it goes down. It's a free service, and there are other ways to call someone if they are down. They are not a telephone replacement service, especially not since you need a phone number to activate Whatsapp.

Even companies like Skype that allow calls to landlines state that they cannot be held responsible for things like emergency calls http://www.skype.com/en/legal/emergency-calling/

These are all just stall tactics from Vodacom and MTN.
 
Up Next:
Facebook messenger
Skype
Telegraph
ChatOn
Hangouts
Lync
and the list can go on for ever as new ones will just replace the ones killed.

This is a fight they can not win doesn't matter how hard they gonna try
 
I still don't know what they want.

Charge more for WhatsApp traffic?
Charge a monthly fee to use it?
Slow it down?

I understand the result but I don't understand the real world logistics
 
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