Nigeria Telcos To Ban Skype, WhatsApp Call
Following the recent economic hardship facing businesses across the country, telecommunication firms in Nigeria are reportedly making moves to block calls made on instant messaging applications like WhatsApp and Skype, in a bid to end revenue loss over international calls.
The move comes after the Nigerian Communications Commission halted the increase in data tariffs offered by Telecommunications companies.
This means that subscribers will be unable to carry out voice and video calls on WhatsApp, Facebook and some other Over-The-Top (OTT) services.
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According to Punch, it is believed that the move will help the Telcoms companies to hit a revenue target of N20trillion.
A top official at one of the telecom companies, who pleaded anonymity told Punch: “It is an aggressive approach to stop further revenue loss to OTT players on international calls, having already lost about N100tn between 2012 and 2017.
“If we fail to be pro-active by taking cogent steps now, then there are indications that we may lose between N20tn and N30tn, or so, by the end of 2018.”
In reaction to the news, the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, said: “We don’t have any evidence of that. We do not regulate the Internet.”
