Editor’s note: The European Commission (EC) favors “light touch” regulation of IP based services, including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The European Regulators Group (ERG) welcomes this approach and has adopted a common statement on VoIP within the context of the new EU framework for the electronic communications markets. This note identifies the main features of this approach.
The European Union’s new framework for regulation of electronic communications services came into effect in July 2003. The framework:
- Sets aside the Commission’s previous communications on VoIP,
- Provides guidance for an EU-wide approach for the convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology, and
- Aims to lower entry barriers, foster competition and service innovation while ensuring that the interest of customers is protected.
The framework incorporates “light touch” regulation of new technologies such as VoIP. It allows National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to be flexible in implementing rules and obligations for service providers using VoIP and other emerging technologies.
Key to the EU’s “light touch” approach is the need to expand broadband access to the internet and encourage competition between IP based carriers of telephone traffic and traditional carriers that use circuit-switched technology. The Commission’s 2004 guidance and consultation document The treatment of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) under the EU Regulatory Framework attempts to balance the objectives of:
- Promoting rapid innovations and market entry, and
- Protecting the interest of customers.
The guidance and consultation document clarified the rules and obligations that apply to VoIP operators and identified several outstanding issues for further consultation with stakeholders.
Notably, technology limitations will make VoIP operators non-compliant with certain public service obligations. These include access to emergency services for citizens, security for law enforcement agencies, and personal privacy data. For example, in the case of nomadic VoIP users, VoIP service providers might not be able to pinpoint the location of a caller. Thus, routing calls to the nearest emergency services (fire, police, and hospitals) might not possible. Technological limitations of VoIP also affect number porting, quality of service guarantees, in-line powering of VoIP terminals, interconnection, and interoperability between the various VoIP standards.
The EC’s “light touch” approach encourages NRAs to forbear with respect to users’ rights and obligations for service providers, so as not to stifle service innovation and retard entry. The EC favors market based solutions to these challenges and stresses the need for operators to work together to overcome them.
Sources
European Regulators Group, ERG Common Statement for VoIP regulatory approaches, ERG (05) 12
European Commission, The treatment of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) under the EU Regulatory Framework: An Information and Consultation Document, Commission Staff Working Document, 14 June 2004
European Commission, The European Commission’s Approach to Voice over IP: Frequently Asked Questions
OECD Working Party on Telecommunication Information Services Policies, VoIP: Developments in the Market, DSTI/ICCP/TISP(2004)3/Final, 10 January 2006