Demand for P2P VoIP software ‘may be seriously hampered in the ev...
Demand for P2P VoIP software “may be seriously hampered in the event the technology is overregulated,” VoIP software maker Skype said in comments to the European Commission (EC). It said it was concerned with “2 main regulatory issues that…
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may create major obstacles for important enhancements to consumer communications that VoIP may bring": (1) “The possibly far-reaching obligations” in the EC’s new regulatory framework (NRF). Skype said the Commission did “not have P2P VoIP software in mind when it drafted and adopted” the framework. It said if offering VoIP enabling software fell under the NRF, “providers like Skype will be confronted with far-reaching obligations to offer facilities and services such as access to emergency services, data retention, wire tapping and number portability.” It said while those obligations were “rightfully imposed” on traditional telecom providers, they shouldn’t apply to providers of P2P VoIP software. For example, it said it would be technically “impossible” for VoIP providers like Skype to provide access to emergency service, since “it will not be possible to provide address data from VoIP users, because of the nomadic character of the VoIP service.” Skype also stressed that PSTN service providers already were obligated to provide facilities for law enforcement interception, and it was “unnecessary” to require that of providers like Skype: “In the event a VoIP user is connected through a gateway to the PSTN, in order to call a user connected to the PSTN, this call can already be intercepted using the facilities of the gateway or of the PSTN provider,” it said. (2) Different, possibly conflicting regulations and enforcement in European member states. Skype said this “undesirable and impractical situation may hinder the development of transborder VoIP services, which will have negative effects for the creation of the internal market and which will work against the objective of the European Union to harmonize the European market.” Skype suggested adopting a “country of origin rule,” under which VoIP providers would need only comply with the laws of its home member state. Skype also urged the Commission to adopt “a harmonized set of objectives and principles” on VoIP so national regulatory authorities can coordinate.