The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said the Application-to-Person (A2P) Messaging Services Licensing Framework will enhance security and boost the national economy.
The Commission gave further insight into the A2P Messaging Services Licensing Framework and its benefits to the consumer, telecom sector and the country.
NCC Assistant Director (Licensing and Authorisation Department), Mrs Truddy Tony-Awusaku, stated this while giving an Overview Of Framework For International A2P Messaging In Nigeria.
She spoke at the Virtual Stakeholders’ Forum on the Draft A2P Licensing Framework, recently held by NCC in Abuja.
The virtual forum was part of the NCC participatory rule-making process, to discuss the licensing framework around a new licence category in the Nigerian telecom sector, being developed by the Commission.
The new licensing category is known as Application-to-Person (A2P) Messaging Licensing Framework.
Mrs Tony-Awusaku explained that A2P messaging is a communication format in the telecom sector used to send Short Message Services (SMS) or sending notifications from an application directly to a recipient’s mobile phone.
According to her, A2P can be initiated through the internet but recipients receive messages via cellular connection. “In other words, A2P enables businesses to send SMS directly to recipients via mobile networks.”
Mrs Tony-Awusaku further stated that the A2P is commonly used for marketing, notifications, alerts and transactional messages.
She stated that NCC was working towards a secured and regulated ecosystem as the International A2P Messaging Licence would ensure fair, secure and efficient communication.
The benefits of A2P licence, she stated, included improved security and safeguard against spam and fraud; revenue retention and local economic growth through taxation.
She said International A2P Messaging Licence will foster economic growth while protecting consumers and businesses. It would also encourage a competitive and transparent telecom market, she added.
She said market oversight will ensure transparency in operations and tariffs; enhanced user trust through the protection of subscriber data.
The NCC Assistant Director, Licensing and Authorisation, however stated that the current status of the international A2P messaging in Nigeria lacked regulation as it has no unified oversight.
She said, as it were, it is prone to revenue leakage as payments, apart from bypassing local systems are not taxed, thus reducing economic benefits.
Mrs Tony-Awusaku listed other problems identified with A2P to include security risks due to increased spam, fraud and illegal activities and market disparities as unregulated termination rates lead to inconsistencies.
She therefore stated that a regulatory oversight for A2P messaging was essential to: engendering standardised tariffs and competition;
Enhancing security against spam and fraud; prevent fraud and unwanted traffic; increase local revenue through taxation and levies and for comprehensive market oversight.
She said the key goals of licensing included centralised international A2P message touting; compliance with a unified platform; protect user data with stringent security protocols and foster a competitive and transparent market.
The scope of the licence included operating a centralised international A2P platform; routing A2P messages securely; offer transactional and notification services and implementation of subscriber opt in/out mechanisms.
Limitations of the A2P messaging included prohibition from providing services not included in the scope; no provision of non-licensed telecom services;
Prohibition against unauthorised activities and disqualification for International Signaling Point Code (ISPC) and National Numbering Plan.
The key licensing features included a licensing fee of ₦10,000,000, five-year renewable tenure and the the market is open to competition with provisions for fair practices.
Eligibility For A2P Licence
To be eligible to apply for an A2P licence, such a licensee must have a registered corporate body in Nigeria; licensee must have a Contract Agreement with a Host Network Operator or National Carrier;
An A2P provider must have proof of financial capabilities for CAPEX/OPEX; and any other as may be required.
Technical Requirements
The technical requirements included capacity to integrate with local MNOs and capacity to route A2P messages through centralised SMS firewall; systems for fraud detection, data protection and encryption.
Requirements for security measures included encryption protocols, data protection compliance and spam and fraud filtering.
Interconnection/Integration
For interconnection or integration, an A2P provider must interconnect with licensees who provide voice and SMS services pursuant to an Interconnect Agreement duly approved and filed by the Commission; and
All local MNOs and international A2P messaging service providers must integrate their systems with the centralised A2P platform within a specified period;
A2P providers must adhere to all relevant NCC regulations; he or she must comply to the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation;
They must submit periodic reports (traffic data, revenue and service quality metrics); compliance with standardised tariffs and licensing conditions.
NCC stated that breach of licence conditions shall attract sanctions, including fines, suspension, or revocation of the licence.
It added that non-compliance with tariff regulations, failure to meet security standards, or tax evasion will attract penalties as stipulated by the NCC.
The NCC assured that it will not stop engaging internal and external stakeholders ahead of the Final Draft of the A2P Messaging Services Licensing Framework.
The Commission, during the virtual stakeholders’ forum, presented the various feedbacks received as inputs into the A2P Licensing Framework being proposed by the Commission.
NCC also responded to the observations and recommendations made by the licensees, stating that the virtual stakeholders’ forum, was just the beginning a process.
