When you put on your headphones to make a Skype call, how often do you worry about being arrested? In Africa, according to a new report from Balancing Act , this is a real concern. The report says that in some African countries, the penalty for making a VoIP call is the same as drug smuggling. All in all, VoIP is forbidden by law or regulation in 36 out of 54 African countries.
That said, VoIP start-ups are mushrooming anyway and the tariffs for international calls from Africa are plummeting. Noting that VoIP is now legal in 9 African nations, Balancing Act’s Russell Southwood says “VoIP has pressured all carriers – including mobile carriers – to lower their rates. This is good news for Africa in general and business on the continent in particular.”
The lesson for African’s politicans couldn’t be clearer. Take the hand-cuffs off VoIP and watch the cost of doing business in Africa go down.
6 comments
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March 7, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Guy Dunn
Grey markets like these are, in effect, dampeners on growth. The demand for cheaper communication costs in Africa shouldn’t be ignored by the powers-that-be.
March 7, 2007 at 3:39 pm
David Raikes
Cheaper and easier telecoms would certainly make a useful contribution to African economic development. Mind you, we should avoid being too hypocritical about the desire of African governments to protect the monopolies of their national companies: getting European governments to open up their own telecoms markets was a slow and tortuous process
March 7, 2007 at 4:04 pm
globaltechforum
True, it took Europe years to open up their markets. But that’s because governments were protecting the huge investment that the incumbents had to make in networks they were obliged to expand and maintain. Today, anyone with a PC and a broadband connection can make a phone call – and to anywhere in the world.
If the costs of becoming a telecom service provider have fallen to within the range of a small start-up, why should people in remote villages in Africa have to wait for this service?
March 7, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Juan Carlos Solines Moreno
I just finished my term as President of the Telecom Regulator (CONATEL) in Ecuador. I believe that one of the major accomplishments of my administration was to recognize VoIP as an application on Internet and, therefore, people now can freely use it as any other technology. As in Africa, VoIP in Ecuador was restricted and only licensed telecom operators were allowed to provide it, since VoIP was considered as a telecom service. The real purpose behind this market barrier was to protect state-owned telecom operators that charge very high rates for long distance calls. As one of the first countries in Latin America to approach VoIP in this new way, we noticed that long distance rates are plummeting in benefit of thousands of poor families with relatives working abroad. I hope that the new government will keep the same policy despite incumbent operators’ pressure.
March 9, 2007 at 11:42 am
globaltechforum
Thank you for this comment. It underlines the point that VoIP isn’t just for lowering the cost of business. It also has a social benefit – ie keeping families of migrant workers in touch.
October 13, 2007 at 8:43 am
abhi
Is VOIP Legal or not in Ethiopia…?