Recent regulatory and market developments require rethinking U.K....
Recent regulatory and market developments require rethinking U.K. VoIP regulations, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) said Wed. The range of VoIP services and number of providers have increased the past 18 months, spurring consumer interest. Market and technology changes…
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have been accompanied by significant regulatory changes, Ofcom said. Discussions with the European Commission led the regulator to conclude that where a VoIP service meets all gating requirements it automatically becomes a publicly available telephone service (PATS). These requirements are that it’s publicly available, used for making and receiving national and international calls through numbers in national or international numbering plans, and provides access to emergency services. European telecom regulators have recently approached regulating VoIP very differently, and the FCC required that VoIP services interconnected with the publicly switched telephone network provide access to emergency services, Ofcom said. In an inquiry launched Wed., Ofcom proposed ending its “interim forbearance policy” of allowing providers of new voice services to enter the market and offer emergency access without having to meet all PATS requirements. It also suggested setting guidelines for how it will investigate and act on potential breaches of obligations regarding network reliability and emergency calls. And it said it plans to introduce a mandatory industry code telling providers what information they must give consumers about what VoIP services can and can’t do. In particular, it said, if reliable emergency access isn’t available, Ofcom intends to require all providers to “seek positive acknowledgement from their customers” that emergency calls can’t be made. Comments are due May 3 -- robindrha.mangtani@ofcom.org.uk. The U.K. Internet Telephony Services Providers Assn. (ITSPA) said Ofcom’s commitment to develop VoIP is commendable, but excessive regulation could stifle the sector. One sensitive area is consumer information, such as number portability. “The U.K. has become a hotbed for the development of VoIP and this is in no small part due to the light touch interim approach that Ofcom put in place in September 2004,” said ITSPA Chmn. Eli Katz. Proposals to regulate consumer information requirements “could reverse this trend and shrink the range of innovative services” now offered to consumers, he said.