Korean Telcos Start Blocking VoIP?
Source: www.voip-news.com
We got a tip today that major ISPs in Korea are going to begin blocking all “unlawful? VOIP traffic in just a few days. We weren’t able to get the rumor confirmed or denied but it seems quite possible. Any updates from readers would be much appreciated.
Here’s the tip, basically unedited, from military service personnel based in Korea:
It has come to our attention this very morning that major ISPs in Korea are going to begin blocking all “unlawful? VOIP traffic in just a few days. According to SamSung Rentals and Telecommuncations (SSRT), the predominant third-party communications vendor on US installations…
The second largest ISP carrier in Korea, Dacom has officially declared that all unlawful VoIP traffic will be blocked from all Dacom’s network on July 1st, 2006 at 00:00am.
Due to that many VoIP services are not legally authorized to provide telecommunications services in Korea and are illegally providing VoIP services using major ISP carrier’s facilities, they have been declared illegal by the Korean Government.(Laws & Rules for Telecommunications No. 33? and the “Laws & Rules for Telecommunications No. 4-3, 12, 19, 59-1, 32~2). Henceforth, any unlawful VoIP service that has not been authorized by the Korean Government will be terminated by other major ISP carriers in Korea as well.”
This section was excerpted from a letter sent to the state department in Korea asking for assistance in preventing the block. Interesting given that the very same issue has been creeping into the public consciousness in the US itself as a side issue to the Net Neutrality debate.
