Roxas gives NTC a pat on the back for new VoIP draft rule

MANUEL Roxas Jr., chairman of the bicameral Congressional Oversight Committee on the Electronic Commerce Law, has given officials of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) a pat on the back for their draft rule declaring voice over Internet Protocol a value-added service.

VoIP routes phone calls through the Internet instead of through traditional public switched telephone networks. Its lower cost is making it an increasingly popular alternative to traditional voice calls.

Roxas, who was former trade secretary, said NTC's draft rules would pave the way for cheaper voice calls over the Internet.

"The NTC draft memorandum is most welcome. It will force the resolution of the regulatory uncertainty that has hampered the commercialization of and public access to VoIP as an inexpensive alternative to conventional telephone calls," Roxas said in a statement.

In Senate Resolution 197, the senator urged the Senate to look into this extant regulatory uncertainty that continues to impede full commercialization and development of VoIP as a much lower-priced alternative to traditional telephone calls.

"In view of VoIP's tremendous promise to provide more affordable voice calls, particularly for small enterprises and our workers overseas, it has become imperative for us to promptly review and resolve all policies hindering public access to the new system," Roxas wrote in his resolution.

He said that while there is a possibility that telephone companies can challenge the validity of the NTC order in the local courts, he was elated that the NTC has at least taken a position.

"We hope this move will eventually lead to a more definitive interpretation of the law," Roxas said.

The senator cited a Frost and Sullivan report indicating that three out of four voice calls worldwide would be eventually be made via VoIP by 2007.

With VoIP, spoken words are broken down into digitized bundles of information, transported over data network or packet switched connections, then reassembled upon reaching their destination.

The Public Telecommunications Act of 1995 does not clearly stipulate whether only telephone companies can offer VoIP.

The National Economic and Development Authority had also sought the full deregulation of VoIP to spur economic growth, investments and jobs. VoIP is expected to drive down international call rates from 40 US cents to just 10 US cents per minute.