Ofcom modifies regulations on VoIP services.
In its March 2007 Statement, Ofcom decided to review its approach to ensuring maximum availability of 999 access. That was because:
· since the 2006 consultation, there had been a rapid increase in the use of VoIP services: 10% of UK households used VoIP in the last quarter of 2006, compared to 5% in the last quarter of 2005
· significant developments in VoIP services and technology meant they were more likely to “look and feel” like traditional fixed and mobile phone services and to replace those services for the mass market in the future;
· there was under provision of VoIP services that allowed 999 calls: in a survey of VoIP users conducted for Ofcom in October 2006 (the October 2006 research) 64% of VoIP households surveyed said they had a service that Ofcom knew would not allow them to call 999
· a significant proportion of VoIP consumers were confused about whether they could call 999 from their service or not: the October 2006 research found that 78% of UK households with a VoIP service that did not provide 999 access incorrectly thought that it did provide 999 access or didn’t know if it did;
· Responses to the 2006 Consultation from the emergency services, Government, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) expressed similar concerns to Ofcom.
This action of Ofcom may not be a good news to some of the VoIP companies due to testing and costs involved in qualifying for 999 emergency service access. If they want to be considered as genuine replacements for the common landline then they should accept the decision of Ofcom and execute the decisions immediately.
Traditional phone services have existed for over 100 years. Voice services using the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are changing the way voice services are delivered. These services normally use a broadband connection to provide voice calls using VoIP technology through a personal computer (PC) with a handset or headset, or a special adaptor connected to a traditional phone handset. VoIP services could benefit customers by reducing the cost of delivering existing services, providing new services and increasing competition in telephony and broadband. Ofcom aims to ensure that, as voice call services evolve, consumers and citizens are protected.
Option 2: require all VoIP services that allow users to make calls to traditional fixed phones or mobile phones (called type 2 VoIP services in this consultation), or to make calls to and receive calls from traditional fixed phones or mobile phones (called type 4 VoIP services), to allow users to call 999. Ofcom considers the users of those services are likely to expect to be able to call 999.
The news comes following an investigation by Ofcom which says operators that provide VoIP to landline services (such as Skype, Truphone and many others) must now make this potentially lifesaving additional provision. VoIP to VoIP only services will be exempt.