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VOIP to be Made Illegal in India

Posted by samzenpus on from the the-internet-is-not-for-talking dept.

Krish writes "Providers like Skype, Yahoo, Net2phone, Dialpad, etc. will not be able to offer VOIP in India under the proposed govt. clampdown. BPOs and other call centers will face the axe if they use any of the VOIP services provided by the above companies. It is not clear if this clampdown will affect regular home users."

3 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. Re:In classic Slashdot form... by stoolpigeon · · Score: 4, Informative

    they aren't banning it. they are banning the use of voip that comes from outside the country, doesn't pay taxes, isn't bound by Indian law, etc.

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
  2. Only UNLICENSED VOIP to be made illegal in India by Somegeek · · Score: 5, Informative
    Another exciting headline that unfortunately has little to do with the truth.

    In the linked article it states that goal of the proposed legislation is that call centers are not going to be allowed to continue to use unlicensed VOIP. That is a huge difference from the Slashdot headline claiming that India is banning VOIP.

    India is quite happy to have them use domestic Indian VOIP providers thereby allowing the government to tax and regulate them. Much like we have in the US where the FCC regulates and taxes VOIP providers.

    --
    And as you tread the halls of sanity, You feel so glad to be, Unable to go beyond. I have a message, From another time..
  3. Re:Oh the irony... by PaneerParantha · · Score: 4, Informative
    People do not seem to have read the article.

    It doesn't say that VOIP will be banned in India, it says:

    1. Illegal Web calls by BPOs face axe

    2. Companies...not use the services of unlicensed foreign service providers such as Net2Phone, Vonage, Dialpad, Impetus, Novanet, Euros, Skype and Yahoo

    3. According to official sources, foreign players such as Skype, in addition to disturbing the level-playing field for bonafide licensees, were also causing great revenue loss to the government as they did not pay the 12% service tax and 6% revenue share on internet telephony.

    4. The government move, when implemented, will fulfil a long-pending demand of internet service providers (ISPs).

    5. ...call centres and BPOs can ensure that they are availing services from an authorised service provider.
    IOW, VOIP won't be banned but more regulated.

    The headline of this story is sensationalist.