By Maisie Ramsay
Monday, April 13, 2009
The European Union (EU) could force carriers to allow VoIP to run on their cellular networks and has already prepared draft legislation that would open smartphones to the technology, according to a report published in Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper.
VoIP allows consumers to place much cheaper calls than those placed over cellular networks. European carriers view the technology as a threat to their business model and have widely banned VoIP from being used on their networks.
Currently, EU member states independently regulate blocked Internet services. However, EU telecom commissioner Viviane Reding recently said “action” should be taken against carriers that use their large market share to “block innovative services.”