Internet Regulation by Governments

Internet Regulation by Governments Impact on VoIP Market

Net neutrality as we know it in the United States may be coming to a close, after only just over two years when the internet was deemed as a common carrier; something that VOIP service providers like SIP Systems have taken advantage of to provide quality service to VOIP customers at the best price. Unfortunately, under the current administration, whether under the agenda of the White House or the flawed logic of the current head of the FCC, the rule of the internet being a utility will be reversed and may affect a variety of data services including VOIP.

The upcoming reversal of the rules of net neutrality will mean that the internet could once again be at the mercy of telecommunications providers with their multi-tiered services and multi-tiered prices. High-data services such as video streaming and VOIP could be affected and discriminated upon by internet service providers, just as before, when a local telecommunications company throttled VOIP services. There are now safeguards against such acts but public speculation of the net neutrality reversal could have a negative impact on VOIP service providers like us at Sip Systems.

Another negative impact aside from throttling would be the impending rise of broadband itself which telecommunications companies will be free to tier to consumers and businesses. The broadband service pricing will depend on how much bandwidth companies can afford. The higher of course, the better, but the cost of broadband depending on purpose could outweigh the cost and benefits of adopting or keeping VOIP in offices.

The situation is the same for other governments, not just the United States, especially in countries where broadband is not generally available or even viable. Some governments discriminate against VOIP altogether as these are not easily monitored as analogue voice calls. Some companies cannot adopt VOIP because of both government regulation and telecom abuse. But as broadband capacities will only continue to increase, so will the use of VOIP in pioneering or progressive offices. Thankfully, some countries with high broadband like South Korea, Japan and Singapore do not discriminate on VOIP though they have laws against torrents.

But fear not, VOIP Service providers are completely separate from the cost of broadband and free from regulation of most governments since VOIP is just one of the many services the internet has to offer. Companies that pay for higher VOIP-capable bandwidth should not have to worry about VOIP throttling. That would also be the case for consumers as bandwidth-levels increase despite tiered pricing for non-net-neutral territories. Also, what sets SIP Systems apart from other VOIP service providers is that we always monitor and analyze the global VoIP market, to provide you or your company maximum quality of communication and best prices. With that, there should be little or no negative impact for companies who have already subscribed to VOIP service providers especially SIP Systems.

Despite any adverse government regulation against broadband, bandwidth shift due to changes in net neutrality, we at SIP Systems have the customers’ interest at heart and will adapt our prices to the changing internet landscape.