Regulatory Issues Associated with Provision of Voice Services Using Internet Protocol in Australia

Regulatory Issues Associated with Provision of Voice Services Using Internet Protocol in Australia - SETEL Comment VoIP services are likely to be welcomed by Australian small businesses as a means of providing flexibility to business operations. If switched or analogue telephony voice services were able, in a digitised format, to provide a similar range of innovative uses then those services would also be welcomed. The technology is largely irrelevant to the user – the function and effectiveness are the important elements. SETEL welcomes new technology that offers greater flexibility for innovative and new services, reduces the impact of ‘last mile’ restrictions and promises potential cost savings. Therefore we should favour minimal regulatory intervention in order to maximise the roll-out of competitive services. However, as VoIP services rely significantly on telephony access services (ISP services in particular) and the typical small business user is unlikely to be capable of discerning the difference between a telephony and non-telephony VoIP service, SETEL believes that there needs to be a maintenance of at least the standards applicable to ISP services. Accordingly SETEL submits that VoIP services should be regulated under a class licence or similar structure and that numbering for such services needs to be controlled by the relevant Government authority. At present there appears to be a trade-off between ...