Summary

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), allowing traditional telephone (“voice”) conversation via an IP network connection, is widely thought to be in the process of revolutionizing telephony markets around the world. The European Union, comprising 25 Member States, is seeking to take a coherent approach to regulation of VoIP services in order to maximize the potential of the EU’s Single Market and the resulting benefits for consumers.

The approach taken so far is fairly light, with an explicit recognition coming from the European Commission (EC) and Member States’ national regulatory authorities (NRAs) that the market should be given time to pick the most successful business models and technological solutions before assessing whether regulation is necessary.

This report sets out the status quo in a number of key areas such as numbering and emergency calls and addresses possible future developments. It is highly recommended to read this report in conjunction with more detailed materials published by the EC and the European NRAs (see bibliographic information below). It is also essential that companies seeking to enter the market in an EU country make a full investigation of the regulatory situation in that country, since EU rules, while setting the framework for national rules, are implemented differently in different countries. There may also be issues relevant to VoIP that are simply not addressed by EU rules, but where the local NRA has a policy in place.