ITU-T Work Programme

[2022-2024] : [SG3] : [Q9/3]

[Declared patent(s)] - [Associated work]

Work item:

D.OTTBypass

Subject/title:

OTT Bypass

Status:

Under study [Issued from previous study period]

Approval process:

TAP

Type of work item:

Recommendation

Version:

New

Equivalent number:

Timing:

2024 (Medium priority)

Liaison:

Supporting members:

Algérie Télécom SPA, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Malawi, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisie Télécom, Zimbabwe

Summary:

The threat of OTT bypass is getting greater with the entrance of some OTT players to the wholesale market as international call terminators. OTT bypass is a fusion of the legal ‘Over-The-Top’ model with the illegal international bypass model, for which, a call originating as a traditionally dialled voice call via the operator’s PSTN (or cellular network), is taken on a detour and terminated to the OTT application on the called party’s phone. This deprives the receiving telecom operator from the termination fees related to this call. The calling subscriber, who initiated a normal voice call with a called number within the terminating network, is unaware of the way the call was terminated; the called subscriber receives a VoIP call. Besides the fact that operators lose from OTT bypass frauds, governments and consumers are also negatively affected. Governments will lose a part of the revenue associated with taxation. Consumers are also affected as they are not aware of the real mode of the call they initiated or received. By opting for a traditional call, the originating customers have consciously chosen not to use an OTT service, so they may feel cheated when they will receive a lower service quality than the one they thought they were paying for, as this type of traffic has neither an SLA nor a guarantee for quality of services. Considering all these drawbacks, OTT bypass is a risk that should not be underestimated; it brings the need for regional and international collaboration between member states and operators to control this type of international telecommunications fraud.

Comment:

Reference(s):