VoIP Blockage: How Will It Affect Enterprises?

Economic Times recently published a report on the latest Intelligence Bureau (IB) proposal. The proposal states that the Communications ministry has been asked to block all VoIP services until the Department of Telecom (DOT) comes up with a mechanism to track calls. Biztech2.0 got in touch with a few experts to find out how this move would affect enterprises.

According to Vijay Mukhi, consultant, e-corporate governance and e-security- DSK Legal, enterprises using VoIP calls on their Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) also fall under the purview of the IB proposal. The IT Amendment Act 2008 has not been enforced yet, but theoretically states that the government has the authority to block VoIP calls.

The government has been dithering about removing quasi-legal blockages that prevent this service from being used legally within the country to the fullest. Now the IB request seeks to block its use for end-users internationally as well. “The request is badly framed from a technical point of view, and if granted will hurt local licensed service providers,” Said Vickram Crishna from RadioPhony.com.

“The service providers will face the heat along with enterprise users who heavily depend on VoIP for their daily operations,” explained Crishna. If the proposal goes through, it will affect the communication costs of companies that use international VoIP telephony to a large extent and also of their service providers.

“If DoT goes ahead with the IB proposal, entrepreneurial activity in the SMB circles would get stifled,” said Kasturi Bhattacharjee, associate director Price Waterhouse Coopers. This can be a big blow to the SMBs who are still trying to come out of the recession.

The underlying concern is identifying both parties on the VoIP call. Suggesting a way out of this issue, Mukhi concludes, “The Government should convince offshore service providers including to be governed as per Indian regulations.”