IBLS INTERNET LAW - NEWS PORTAL
In order to encourage competition between Internet carriers of telephone traffic and traditional telephone the European Commission favors an EU-wide light touch approach to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.The European Commission launched a consultation on the treatment of Voice over VoIP services under the EU regulatory framework. Based on the conclusions reached in this consultation, the European Commission expressed its intention to promote the development of VoIP services rather than develop detailed guidelines for VoIP. Moreover, VoIP providers often face difficulties to provide guaranteed access to emergency services due to technical limitations. However, rather than impose strict obligations, the European Commission has encouraged market players to collaborate on possible solutions for the provision of emergency access services.
The main objective of the European Commission is to harmonize the legislation in EU countries through directives, regulations and decisions of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission. In June 2004, a consultation on the treatment of VoIP services under the Regulatory Framework was launched by the European Commission. The purpose of the consultation was to clarify the application of the Directives to VoIP services. In February 2005, the European Commission opted to refrain from developing detailed guidelines for VoIP services. Instead, the Commission merely expressed its intention to promote the development of VoIP services. Further, in order to allow innovative services and market structures to emerge, the Commission urged National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to take a light touch approach to regulation of VoIP. To this end, the European Regulator Group (ERG) has issued guidelines in some areas of VoIP, but NRAs have been free to develop their own approaches to the treatment of VoIP.
VoIP providers often face difficulties in providing guaranteed access to emergency services due to the technical limitations involved in processing such services. One main difficulty is the provision of a means to identify caller location if VoIP services are provided nomadically.