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.