Govt to launch quarterly review of VoIP operators

Govt to launch quarterly review of VoIP operators

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will review the operation of the existing five
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) operators every three months,
according to an official, adding that dormant operators will risk
losing their licenses.

Spokesman of the directorate general of post and
telecommunications Gatot S. Dewa Broto said on Wednesday that the
new policy would be effective next month after the government
renewed the licenses of VoIP operators.

Their licenses will expire at the end of this month, Gatot
said, adding that the Ministry of Communications was expected to
renew them within one to two weeks.

The five VoIP operators include the units of the state-owned
telecommunications companies PT Telkom, PT Indosat, PT Satelindo,
and two private firms PT Gaharu Sejahtera and PT Atlassat
Solusindo.

The government has been criticized for only allowing five
companies to run the local VoIP business.

Some 12 VoIP operators whose operations have been suspended by
the directorate general of post and telecommunications recently
are seeking to form a joint operation with Telkom.

But Telkom said that the plan had been halted by the
directorate general on the grounds that the 12 operators had yet
to seek approval from the government.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones reported that Telkom had signed an
agreement with Germany's Deutsche Telekom unit T-System
International Carr Services to jointly provide international
telecommunication services through access to each others
networks.

The agreement includes cooperation in the areas of VoIP,
international toll-free services, and direct bilateral
interconnection.

T-System is Europe's second largest integrated system
provider.

Telkom's cooperation with the Deutsche Telekom unit is
expected to pave the way for the local company's efforts to enter
the international call services market, analysts have said.