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In the last roundup of news we discussed China’s typically cautionary approach to the VoIP application. As VoIP rolls forward it is becoming increasingly obvious that regulation of such an application, both in terms of service quality and security will prove difficult for any government.
Communications Minister Helen Coonan recently outlined recommendations for regulation of new technology, such as VoIP and includes issues such as" interoperability and standards, potential critical infrastructure vulnerabilities and redundancy of legacy legislation"… what does exactly happen to Telstra?
Its also worth noting that carrier license applications involve detailed strategy for interception of data, that is, the government would prefer that they can listen to your calls, should they ever need to. The same is already true for regular land lines (wiretaps) where a warrant is issued.
Encryption of communications would make this difficult, but end to end encryption is not a typical service applied to regular VoIP providers.
In any case, you know that technology is worthwhile when the powers that be start sinking their claws into it in an effort to tax, regulate and control the technology. Canberra knows what the implications of this are, and when wireless networks or possibly even broadband over powerlines become the norm, Telstra’s position becomes tenuous indeed.
REFERENCES
http://australianit.news.com.au
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