This was backed by the European Regulators Group (ERG) when it
met in Brussels last week, bringing together the 25 national
regulatory authorities responsible for electronic communication
markets. The ERG adopted a common statement on VoIP services to
facilitate the roll out and widespread use of internet telephony in
Europe.
"I intend to strongly promote an open, pro-competitive approach
to Voice over IP in all 25 Member States of the European Union, and
I therefore welcome today's first positive joint signal from the
national regulators", said Commissioner Viviane Reding, responsible
for Information Society and Media. "I expect Voice over IP to lead
to more diverse and innovative services in the market which may
well have an even bigger impact on consumers and businesses than
e-mail."
Until recently, VoIP was a niche phenomenon, but it now has hit
the mainstream consumer and business markets. As IP technology
becomes a widespread phenomenon, today's telephone networks will be
completely restructured, making the EU's electronic communications
infrastructure more flexible and cost-efficient.
The Commission conducted a public consultation on VoIP in June
2004, which sought to clarify the regulatory issues related to VoIP
services. Commissioner Reding and her services will build on the
results of this consultation in the months to come and closely work
together with national regulators to ensure that Internet telephony
will be able to unfold its considerable potential for enhancing
innovation and competitive market entry in the electronic
communications sector.
