Entities put heads together at CANTO Conference to discuss the
controversial evolving issue.
NASSAU,
N.P...(August 12, 2014)
Key Stakeholders after the CANTO Opening Session. L-R: Dr. HamadounToure, Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); Stephen Bereaux, Director of Policy and Regulation, URCA; Cleveland Thomas, ITU Regional Representative for the Caribbean; Lean Williams, CEO, BTC
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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 Home Phone 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.”