Sometimes, we become too focused on the United States and what is going on here. We can’t really be blamed – after all, this country is one of the leading countries in the world (if not the leading). Many developments and innovations start in the U.S. and the news covers a lot of happenings in the nation and disseminates the information to the rest of the world.

If you want to expand your horizons, though, it would be better to monitor the goings on in countries outside of the U.S. – it is for your personal and professional development, trust me. So what does this have to do with VOIP?

Well, VOIP is big in the U.S. – there is no doubt about that. What about its status in other parts of the world? I ran across a news article on ITWire today detailing some VOIP developments in Australia.

Apparently, their main agency that deals with communications, Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), are conducting a campaign to ensure that VOIP service providers in the country are complying with the standards that they have set. Just like in the U.S. and in other countries, VOIP regulations in Australia have been quite unclear – at least in enforcement.

With this new campaign by the ACMA, they aim to solidify the regulations and make the enforcement stricter. One good example of a specific point is the fact that the rules require VOIP service providers in Australia which are able to receive calls from and make calls to public telephone numbers should also be able to make emergency calls. In Australia, the emergency number is 000 and 106 is the number for those who are hearing or speech impaired. Skype, which is able to receive calls from and make calls to public telephone numbers, clearly states that it cannot be used to make emergency calls.

There are more details as to what the ACMA is trying to achieve with this campaign and the ITWire article presents a very clear picture. I think that this is a good step towards the standardization of VOIP services. In fact, I personally believe that certain standards should be set for all countries of the world. Of course, this might not be easy to do, what with the differences in governance. However, the idea that us consumers would know what to expect from the industry is certainly something to look forward to, isn’t it?

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