I came across a news piece in the Globe & Mail outlining the expected regulation of VoIP services by the CRTC.

The ruling will likely impose the same regulations on VoIP that are currently imposed on regular phone services. However, the article hinted at a few other interesting things. If I am not mistaken, the regulation would not apply to all competitors in the marketplace, but specifically those from the telecommunications industry but not those in the cable industry.

I find it interesting that the argument was surrounding which player would be dominant in the VoIP market: cable services or telcos. The argument for regulation revolves around the definition of VoIP: is it a phone or Internet product? Those in favour of regulation want to ensure that the large telcos don't offer VoIP services below cost in order to attract attention - this is a cut, despite the fact that VoIP services are currently cutting their revenue through increased competition.

Although they hint at competition, there is no recognition of such services as Skype, one of the most widely recognized VoIP players in the market. It looks like Skype would also be unregulated in the new bill. I find it difficult to imagine myself going over to a telco for my VoIP services. Not out of loyalty to Skype, but simply because I don't use the telcos for anything at the moment. No landline or anything. So, low cost VoIP services bundled into other products would not attract me. With cable, perhaps, but I still don't think I'll be entertained to another product.

Part of my decision to stick with Skype is that I don't see any future product from either telco or cable provider to offer the same level of social connectivity. I use Skype everyday, and quite a lot during the day, but rarely for voice services. Although the option is great, as is the multi-person capability, I use it for my IM. Group chats, simple interface, easy to manage voice to chat switches. Just simple.

So, although the CRTC may be focusing on regulation as necessary to control the VoIP industry from the telco perspective, I would like to see the issue move from "how do we define VoIP" and "how do we control VoIP" to "How can we integrate VoIP with other useful products." Note how I said integrate. Not bundle. Bundles represent packages for discounts, not integrated services.

Tag: VoIP