Legal hurdles facing VoIP in RI

Legal hurdles facing VoIP in RI

JAKARTA (JP): Adrie Taniwidjaya is a businessman who graduated
from the Bandung Institute of Technology. He made Global Net, a
Calling Card company providing inexpensive overseas calls. Using
Voice over Internet Protocols (VoIP) technology, the customer
dials in a local number on his regular phone and is connected to
his destination via the Internet. So imagine Andrie's surprise
when he was arrested in August on charges of stealing revenue
(telephone charges) from the long-distance telephone operators.

Global Net does require the use of the local telephone network
but the allegation of long-distance revenue theft is rather
inaccurate. VoIP does not use any of the long-distance circuits
currently in place but utilizes Internet bandwidth from the
connection that unites Indonesia to the rest of the world. So,
perhaps Global Net is stealing customers away from the telephone
companies? Perhaps, but in the highly competitive world of long-
distance calls, can you call it a crime?

The state of VoIP technology in Indonesia is still rather
unclear. While it's not exactly illegal to operate (you require a
government license to activate it), very few companies (including
long-distance giants Indosat and Satelindo) are permitted to
officially offer Internet telephony. Indonesia has some of the
most expensive International Direct Dial (IDD) charges in the
world. The profits earned by the telephone companies may be high
but one could argue that the exposure or use of long-distance in
general among the population is still low.

Taniwidjaya was later released by the police. His case (and
another similar one in Surabaya) seems to suggest that the
monopoly enjoyed by the phone companies is still strong. However,
the communications Mandarins should take note. With the explosion
of Free PC-to-Phone websites and VoIP Phone-to-Phone services
offered globally, the national market share of the Telco's can
only shrink as users clamor for more economical services.

National direct competition is necessary to energize the local
and international long-distance industry. More companies
offering VoIP could mean increased tax revenues for the
government as well as lower rates. Lower rates translate into
greater market share on the whole as they will attract a larger
segment of the population. So everyone wins.

One popular sentiment is, "Why pay more for something that is
actually worth a lot less?" With efficient use of technology, we
can offer more reasonable services for the consumer. But if
entrepreneurs keep on facing various bureaucratic, licensing and
legal hurdles, the VoIP industry in Indonesia can never take off,
leaving it open to overseas domination. Which brings to mind
another saying: "When will we ever move forward?" (Vishnu K.
Mahmud)