A new lobby group has been set up in an attempt to influence the regulation of Internet telephony in Europe.
Voice on the Net Coalition Europe, which includes large suppliers like Google, Intel, Microsoft and Skype, was launched on Friday in response to regulatory proposals made by the European Commission a month ago.
One of these proposals would require that VoIP providers enable calls to emergency services. The UK's telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has since mandated that such access must be made available by September 2008.
The news comes after Australia's national telecommunications regulatory body the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) confirmed amendments to the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2002 last month, making it obligatory for local VoIP carriers to provide free of charge access calls to emergency services via 000.
ACMA imposed further requirements on VoIP providers to flag users in an integrated public database, so that emergency call operators are alerted to ask for their location in the event of placing a call to the number.
The local amendments came in light of a lack of consumer awareness over which VoIP providers were emergency call enabled, and that Internet telephony did not necessarily provide the same access as conventional landline services.
"It is important that consumers understand the choices on offer and the differences between different types of VoIP services and more traditional telephone services," said ACMA chairman, Chris Chapmani n a statement accompanying the amendments.
"These amendments provide greater certainty for consumers about access to police, fire and ambulance assistance, as new and innovative services are introduced," Chapman added.
VoIP providers in Europe such as Skype disagree with such proposals, arguing that VoIP is a complement to, rather than a replacement for, traditional telephony services.
According to a statement released on Friday, VON Coalition Europe "will work to educate, inform, and promote responsible government policies that enable innovation and the many benefits that Internet voice innovations can deliver."
"Internet-enabled communications are an entirely new genre of communications products, services, and applications and a new frontier in communications for individuals and businesses alike," said Stephen Collins, director of global governmental and regulatory affairs at Skype. "In order to unleash their vast benefits, policymakers need to embrace forward-thinking policy approaches."
"If we automatically subject this new technology to legacy telephone regulation, consumers, and business users could miss out on the new services, increased choices, better prices, and improved features that VoIP, for example, can deliver," Collins said.
In its statement, the coalition claimed that the "premature application" of emergency call rules to Web sites, click-to-dial services, one-way public switched telephone-network voice services, and other VoIP services that are not a replacement for traditional home or business phone services "could actually harm public safety, stifle innovations critical to people with disabilities, stall competition, and limit access to innovative and evolving communication options where there is no expectation of placing a 112 call."
The European Commission could offer no comment at the time of writing.
