VoIP Calls Access to be Blocked in India
This is a shocking news for VoIP users who call India, they would no
longer be able to call India using internet telephony service if the
request of Intelligence Bureau is granted. Citing security concerns
related to the inability to track the origin of calls made via
Internet telephony (Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP), India’s
Intelligence Bureau has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to block
VoIP services to and from the country claiming that they are acting in
the interest of national security.
Although, this request is still waiting approval from the government
but if finally approved callers in India should be ready to pay very
high calling rates as high as 7-10 cents per minute since VoIP calls
have offer very cheap rates to most destinations accross the globe and
even within the country.
Now it is not clear whether this request will apply to all Internet
Telephony, or specifically to calls that terminate on a landline or a
handset. As far as we know, even though the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended unrestricted Internet
Telephony in India, these haven’t yet been made operational by the
DoT. Thus, terminating VoIP calls on PSTN networks (landline, mobiles)
still isn’t permitted in India. It’s unlikely that the DoT will be
able to enforce identification of where VoIP calls are originating
from anyway.
Anyway, is it possible for ISPs to block VoIP altogether? Because even
though one may not be able to terminate calls on a handset, users will
probably be able to use applications like Fring, Nimbuzz or even Skype
Mobile via 3G or WiFi.
May be the enforcing agent should have a re-think before implementing
this. They should consider the fact that VoIP is not the only way of
communication for anti-Indian groups. They can very well use Satellite
Phones or scrambled phone lines. Also, the ban implies that there
would definitely be more illegal VOIP usage which in turn means loss
of revenue for the government because people would sought for a way
out to beat the system.
We would like to know your opinions concerning this issue by dropping a comment.
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