Stung by Deutsche Telekom's refusal to allow mobile VoIP calls across its T-Mobile network, the EU is preparing to issue new rules that will prevent European operators from blocking VoIP traffic, claiming it is an abuse of their dominant market position. Currently, each European operator is allowed to choose what Internet traffic to block and what to allow.
Meanwhile, the high-profile EU Telecoms Commissioner, Viviane Reding, has requested member countries take legal action against operators that block the introduction of innovative services through the use of their near-monopoly situation in major markets. However, while the EU may look favourably on the lifting of these obstacles, Reding has admitted the draft document covering the new VoIP rules remains incomplete and ‘"not as clear as the EU would want it to be."
Regardless of these rumblings, a spokesman for T-Mobile has calmly acknowledged its ban on mobile VoIP calls might be considered controversial, and could be risky in the future.
Some months ago, Nokia announced, to the annoyance of many operators, that it planned to include the VoIP Skype software on many of its new handsets. Since then, the company has back-tracked on this commitment stating that the Skype application would only ship on a limited number of new Nokia cell phones.
For more on this story:
Softpedia and MocoNews
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