TMCnews Featured Article

Although VoIP use is increasing every day around the world, there are still hurdles standing in the way of its adoption, even in the case of hosted VoIP, in some countries. Indeed, the unique situations in both India and South Africa have slowed or stopped VoIP use altogether.

In the case of India, use of high-encryption VoIP services such as Skype (News - Alert) have become the standard for terrorist communications. Because VoIP providers aren't currently required to setup servers within India or be registered in the country, there's nothing the Indian government can really do to intercept terrorist calls.

However, the Indian government is looking into amending the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, to make it mandatory that VoIP networks enable de-encryption of content for surveillance purposes. This includes requiring that all VoIP services available in India must be registered there. VoIP providers will also have to set up servers in the country to route calls and messages.

According to the department of telecommunications (DoT) and the department of information technology (DIT), this will make intercepting or blocking Internet telephony communications possible within India. These departments also decided that telecommunications companies will need to "segregate Internet protocol (IP) addresses on a state-wide basis," according to Indian tech site Tech2, which will make it possible to control access to websites.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, many consumers and business owners are reluctant to switch to VoIP. Indeed, according to a survey conducted by IDC (News - Alert) toward the end of 2011, only 22 percent of enterprise voice traffic in the country occurs over VoIP. Of that, 52 percent of local enterprises were relying on PC-based VoIP solutions, while only 17.8 percent were using hosted VoIP.

"Despite new operators rolling out fibre and WiMax alternatives, consumers are under the wrongful impression that fixed-line still provides the most stable connections and the fastest broadband speeds,” said Mondi Hattingh, co-director of Skywire Technologies, in a statement.

The issue stems from slow broadband speeds — South Africa ranks 122nd out of 180 countries according to download speed on Ookla's (News - Alert) Net Index — and cost, as the average cost per Mbps in South Africa was calculated at over $37 on the Net Index. Unfortunately, mobile connectivity is also extremely expensive in the country, despite recent cost declines.

While the situations in India and South Africa seem tough, they are both on their way toward solutions. In India's case, swift amendment to the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and cooperation from VoIP providers will get IP communications running normally again - possibly within months. As for South Africa, although telecommunications are expensive and slow at the moment, consumer demand and alternative providers are expected to drive costs down and speeds up.