Voice over IP has attracted enough interest In Australia for the regulators to consider how it will be handled.
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan,has announced the release of a Government report into the policy and regulatory
implications of VOIP services. All of the recommendations of the report
have been accepted and will be implemented by Government.
The report finds that there is no immediate need for any changes to
the regulatory framework and recommends some small adjustments to
existing numbering, emergency services and customer service regulation
to accommodate VOIP services.
A new non-geographic number range will be established for VOIP
services to allow providers to offer VOIP services which are not
location specific so a customer can keep the same number when moving
house.