Viva VoIP

NTC declares VoIP as value added service

Erwin Lemuel Oliva eoliva@inq7.net
INQ7.net

THE NATIONAL Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has approved on Tuesday the final guidelines deregulating commercial voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services in the Philippines.

"We already signed the memorandum circular this afternoon. So we now have the final guidelines ready. Basically, we just reiterated what we have said earlier that VoIP is a value-added service. But we've added some few points to support our position," NTC Deputy Commissioner Jorge Sarmiento told INQ7.net.

This was after months of deliberation and heated public debates both at the NTC and the Philippine Congress.

Sarmiento said the NTD guidelines will become effective 15 days after it is published in a generally-circulated newspaper.

NTC's decision to deregulate commercial VoIP services in the country follows after mounting pressure from government, as well as the industry, in particular the Internet service providers.

VoIP routes phone calls through the Internet instead of through traditional public switched telephone networks. Its lower cost has made it a popular alternative to traditional voice calls.

The rules would now identify parties that are allowed to offer VoIP services, as well as standard agreements between telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers (ISPs) regarding service performance standards, interconnection charges, access costs, as well as consumer security and privacy.

Sarmiento said that NTC has followed its earlier position that VoIP is a value-added service instead of a regular voice service, which under the law is covered by the Telecommunications Act.

This was the primary contention that fueled the debates between the carriers and local ISPs.

VoIP is turning out to be a cheaper communications alternative to the public, and it can provide additional communication services not commonly found in traditional voice services.

The National Economic Development Authority has pushed for the deregulation of VoIP services in the country, saying that this would decrease government spending on telecommunications.