Canada to control public release of VoIP

Established phone companies in Canada will be able to control their public release of VoIP services.

Large phone companies, such as SaskTel, had been told by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) that the voice over internet protocol services (VoIP) would be regulated. When the ruling came down, the complaints were immediate.

The regulations would require that the existing companies get permission from the CRTC before introducing new services or changing existing prices. However, the regulations would not apply to upstart companies. Since the two would be in direct competition in the market, SaskTel and the other large companies complained that the upstarts would have an unfair advantage.

Prime Minister Steven Harper’s cabinet seemed to agree with the larger companies. As of Wednesday, the cabinet issued an overrule to the regulations as laid out by the CRTC. Those companies serving the public internet will not be subject to CRTC overview. In house VoIP services, those limited to just the phone companies own networks, will remain under regulations.

The overrule gives SaskTel and the other larger phone companies the ability to set their own prices as they see the market will allow. The established companies were happy with the decision that came down.

Their hope is that the same attitude will now spill over into the regular services, given the companies even more control over their own marketing.