EU ‘pro-competition’ on VoIP
p2pnet.net News:- The European Regulators Group (ERG) comprising the 25 national regulatory authorities responsible for electronic communication markets says it’s in favour of a pro-competitive approach to Net telephony.
And, “I am convinced that, as the market develops, the European Commission and national regulators will jointly ensure that throughout the EU, the roll-out of new IP-based services will not be hindered by regulatory hurdles,” promises commissioner Viviane Reding, responsible for Information Society and Media.
Meeting in Brussels, the ERG adopted a common statement on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to facilitate the roll out and widespread use of Internet telephony in Europe, it says.
The European Commission itself favours an EU-wide ‘light touch’ approach to Internet telephony as the best way to encourage competition between internet carriers of telephone traffic and traditional telephone networks, says an ERG statement.
“I intend to strongly promote an open, pro-competitive approach to Voice over IP in all 25 Member States of the European Union, and I therefore welcome today’s first positive joint signal from the national regulators,” said Reding.
“I expect Voice over IP to lead to more diverse and innovative services in the market which may well have an even bigger impact on consumers and businesses than email. And Voice over IP is just the tip of the iceberg. IP-based networks and services will be the basis for a whole new range of communications services, not only benefiting consumers directly, but feeding through directly to the whole economy.”
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