EU looks at mobile VoIP blocking

European Union (EU) authorities are investigating the mobile phone company practice of blocking VoIP calls to see if it is against competition law.

The European Commission (EC) has sought details from providers via a questionnaire which asked what "tools" are used to "control, manage, block, slow down or otherwise restrict or filter" VoIP calls, reports the International Herald Tribune.

According to a spokesman, Jonathan Todd, the EC "is closely monitoring the evolution of the VoIP market".

The research director for mobile devices at analysis firm Gartner, Carolina Milanesi, told the newspaper that mobile phone providers block the use of VoIP because it is cheaper than their own services.

"Mobile carriers are worried about the short-term impact and the cash cannibalisation on voice calls," she said.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can greatly benefit from the cost-savings inherent in VoIP technologies, an expert said last month.

Samuel Schneider, marketing director at Bandwidth.com, claimed that savings on telephony costs of more than 50 per cent were possible with VoIP.