{"id":70788,"date":"2014-12-10T08:57:45","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T13:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=70788"},"modified":"2017-04-07T20:28:29","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T01:28:29","slug":"good-idea-regulate-voip-based-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2014\/12\/good-idea-regulate-voip-based-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it a good idea to regulate VoIP-based services?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamaica has announced that it will be introducing regulations for over the top VoIP services in order to generate tax revenue, but is that really a good idea?<\/em><\/p>\n

For most of us in the Caribbean, we have been riveted by the unfolding drama of the proposed purchase of Columbus International by Cable and Wireless Communications Plc. (CWC). The key developments, as the time of publishing, have been that CWC shareholders have enthusiastically approved the transaction, and Caribbean regulators are meeting in Trinidad and Tobago today and tomorrow (10\u201411 December) to discuss the intended purchase and the associated implications.<\/p>\n

However, in some countries in the region, an earlier issue that had received considerable attention \u2013 the blocking of Internet-based services that used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) \u2013 has remained unresolved. In Jamaica, one of the countries in which over-the-top (OTT) broadband Internet services such as Viber and Nimbuzz were blocked, it appears that the government has finally decided on a course of action. According to Philip Paulwell, Minister for Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, \u201cregulations for VoIP services were currently being drafted and that the government would be going after tax revenue from service providers<\/em>\u201d (Source: The Gleaner<\/a>).<\/p>\n

It is all about money<\/h3>\n

Currently, Jamaica is cash-strapped. It is under fiscal oversight by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as it works to rein in spending and manage debt. Further in the depressed economy that Jamaica and other Caribbean countries have been experiencing over the past few years, there has been an urgency to ferret out all possible avenues and opportunities that might generate revenue. However, should the need for money be solely driving Jamaica\u2019s move to regulate VoIP\/OTT services?<\/p>\n

OTT regulation not popular worldwide<\/h3>\n

The arguments of local telcos on the loss of revenue from VoIP-based OTTs services are common worldwide, and though there has been some debate on the issue, it does not yet appear that consensus or a best practice regulatory approach has emerged. Furthermore, and unlike what is expected in Jamaica, the discussions on regulation of OTT services have not been limited VoIP applications, but include, for example:<\/p>\n