As a result of active measures from Mobile Operators and Nepali Police, the grey traffic ratio has gone down close to 15 percent and Nepal Police have carried out 17 successful raids. This is exactly how the issue is handled all over the world: Regulator gives telecom licenses to reliable players, telecom acts rule the game and if any violations, police holds violators responsible for their actions. At the same time, the quality of international calls has reached a very good level. Thanks to Nepal Telecommunications Authority and Nepal Police, the process has started and will continue!
Let’s look at VOIP from another perspective. Any consumer having a computer and internet connection can make VOIP calls for free. However s/he will be charged for data connection. Ncell became one of the ISPs (Internet Service Provider) last September, when our fastest internet connection in Nepal called Ncell Connect was launched. Ncell subscribers can use Ncell connect and perform VOIP connection over the world for free and pay only for data connection.
What makes VOIP call illegal? It is illegal when the VOIP call is terminated into mobile network bypassing International Gateway.
Building up a mobile network is investment intensive (Ncell has announced investment of US$100 million in 2011 to its network) and in order to forecast the return on the investment, ISP and Mobile Operator business should not be mixed together. If any ISP is allowed to terminate international incoming traffic into mobile network, it is like someone having a bus ticket from Delhi to Kathmandu using the same ticket to board an airliner. Domestic authorities should not regulate international incoming traffic, be it flights or calls.
Flight tickets cost more because airplanes cost more than buses and are more expensive to operate. Like mobile network. The killer of mobile business has been the fact that people can talk anywhere, anytime with acceptable prices compared to landlines. But you can make a VOIP call free by sitting next to your computer and expecting your counterpart in Lumbini or New York to do the same. Let us keep the business models separate, let’s guarantee healthy business environment to telecom operators and also make sure that government will get their share of legal business in the form of taxes, frequency fees etc. And consumers can enjoy quality services.
You are welcome to comment and continue discussion at the new Ncell CEO Blog http://blog.ncell.com.np
The writer is CEO of Ncell
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