NASSAU, N.P…(August 12, 2014) BTC and telecoms regulator URCA have both declared that they are keeping their eyes on Voice over IP (VoIP) providers as broadband develops in the country. The comments were prompted by vigorous debate at the 30th Annual CANTO Conference, where the topic has been a source of controversy amongst Caribbean telecommunications operators, regulators, and governments.
VoIPs deliver voice and multimedia over internet or data connection, in many cases free or at low cost. Examples include, Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger for mobile, and the notorious Viber, which allows users to complete long distance calls from mobile using a data connection.
The issue was originally raised by Digicel, who recently blocked a number of VoIPs, including Viber and NimBuzz, on their networks in Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad. In the CANTO opening session, Digicel Board Director PJ Mara passionately advocated the interests of telecoms operators in the region explaining that VoIP providers exploit infrastructures without contribution.
“With this [VoIP] arrangement, operators and the local governments lose,” said Mr. Mara. “We are not opposed to all VoIPs, some like Facebook have a legitimate business model. However, we cannot have predatory providers draining local revenue for the benefit of venture capital firms away on Wall Street. Normally, a foreign provider pays termination fees to the destination provider for the use of the network, and from that we would pay taxes to the government. These VoIPs pay nothing. It is pure bypass.”
URCA Director of Policy and Regulations, Steven Bereaux stated that while he understands the grievances of ICT operators, URCA will be taking a balanced approach in considering the issue, which he predicts will become very topical soon.
“I think it is important when we consider this issue, which will become a significant regulatory issue, that we consider holistically what these services mean to people, how they work, and how or who they should pay,” Bereaux disclaimed. “Whether the issue is revenue or regulation, it can be handled in many ways. We must be cautious. Disruptive technologies have been changing the way we work for a long time; even mobile was once disruptive. We must consider the perspectives of all stakeholders.”
BTC CEO Leon Williams says that, though VoIP has not been a significant issue for the company thus far, BTC supports the CANTO stance as these providers rapidly grow.
“CANTO’s point of view is to simply level the playing field for legitimate licensed telecoms providers. We are all migrating to 4G, which is built for data; it is inevitable that there will be WhatsApp and other applications. However some are exploiting the infrastructure without paying licensing or termination fees. Also, these apps use significant data, degrading the quality and security of service; or alternately they increase the cost of data capacity to the provider, which would be passed on to the customer. So we support CANTO from a regional perspective.”
Williams added that though BTC has not yet planned any local action, the company has always sought to go above and beyond to adapt to the needs of the customer, pointing to BTC’s past VoIP policies.
“As to the way forward locally, we have not set a specific plan,” said Williams. “We always look to accommodate the customer. Look to VIBE, our own VoIP product we launched in the 1990s as an alternate to predatory services. The product eventually cannibalised our long-distance and we had to replace it in 2011 with our HomePhone Plus, which provides long distance at more affordable rates. But now, as we did then, we seek to find a solution that benefits our customers, the company, and the regulatory environment. We will be working in conjunction with CANTO to address this.”
