Asterisk VoIP News

Friday, March 10, 2006

Vonage cries foul over Canada VoIP "Tax"

Note: This is a little off-topic for Asterisk but I felt you still needed to read this if you have not heard because it could affect us in the future.

Consumer IP telephony service Vonage has filed a complaint to Canadian regulators over plans by local telco, Shaw Cable, to charge a C$10 ($8.60) a month premium to customers of VoIP service. The charge ostensibly covers to cost of providing a higher quality connection to VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) users. Vonage describes the levy as a "thinly veiled" VoIP tax.

By using internet connections to make long-distance calls instead of conventional voice circuits users have the potential to make far cheaper calls. Vonage argues Shaw's fee undermines the healthy development of the market.

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