Eight telecom regulators from Asean have joined forces to push for a tax regime governing over-the-top (OTT) business, says the Asean Telecommunications Regulators' Council.
At the ATRC's Wednesday meeting in Bangkok, the council urged Asean regulators to focus on consumer protection and fair competition.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said the NBTC agreed to move ahead with the drafting process for an OTT regulatory framework in line with ATRC guidelines, especially regarding the tax regime.
Although the NBTC has no direct authority to shape taxation, the commission will cooperate with other related bodies such as the Revenue Department, the Bank of Thailand and the Finance Ministry to bring OTT-related businesses -- those whose operations are in Thailand or benefit from Thailand -- into the tax system.
Mr Takorn said a practical approach is to develop the national payment gateway now managed by the Bank of Thailand. The gateway, however, does not cover financial transactions made via OTT by non-bank operators and fintech companies.
"The NBTC will update all related parties with information from the ATRC's initial conclusions," Mr Takorn said.
On the subject of consumer protection of personal data, the secretary-general said the ATRC meeting heard concerns that a great amount of digital content is uncontrollable when conveyed through OTT and social media platforms.
Several telecom regulators highlighted the need for an OTT "code of conduct" in doing business. The code would have to conform to the legal system of each country.
Music and video streaming are some of the fastest-growing OTT services. Pattanapong Hirunard
In addition, the regulatory framework for OTT must promote fair competition in the ecosystem of OTT and related sectors, the regulators said.
OTT, especially video streaming, has fundamentally changed the business and revenue models of traditional service providers worldwide.
A variety of new business models are changing the rules of advertising, subscriptions and engagement with consumers.
Unfair competition remains an issue among OTT businesses themselves, especially for small versus big players and local versus global players.
Mr Takorn said the ATRC has yet to agree on uniform principles of registration and licensing for OTT operators.
Among ATRC members, the regulator of Indonesia is likely to be the most rigid in terms of regulations governing OTT, as the country's registration system and taxation regime are clearly spelled out.
The ATRC will hold another meeting by the end of this year to discuss preliminary conclusions on OTT regulations.
ATRC members are telecom regulators from the 10 Asean countries. Myanmar and Singapore did not take part in this week's meeting.