BTC has joined other regional telecoms operators in expressing concern that the interests of operators in the region are being undermined by voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) providers such as Skype, WhatsApp and others, which offer voice and multimedia delivery for customers at low or no cost.BTC and telecoms regulator URCA have both declared that they are keeping their eyes on VoIP providers as broadband develops in the country. The comments were prompted by vigorous debate at the 30th annual CANTO Conference, where the topic has been a source of controversy amongst Caribbean telecommunications operators, regulators and governments. It was claimed at the conference that governments in the region may be losing hundreds of millions of dollars collectively, as companies miss out on up to $500 million in revenue. The issue was originally raised by Digicel, which recently blocked a number of VoIPs, including Viber and NimBuzz, on their networks in Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad. Viber allows users to complete long distance calls from mobile using a data connection. In the CANTO opening session, Digicel Board Director PJ Mara passionately advocated the interests of telecoms operators in the region explaining that VoIP providers exploit infrastructures without contribution."With this (VoIP) arrangement, operators and the local governments lose," said Mara. "We are not opposed to all VoIPs, some, like Facebook, have a legitimate business model. However, we cannot have predatory providers draining local revenue for the benefit of venture capital firms away on Wall Street. Normally, a foreign provider pays termination fees to the destination provider for the use of the network, and from that we would pay taxes to the government. These VoIPs pay nothing. It is pure bypass."Mara called the situation "unsustainable" and one that a number of industry players have been trying to address for some time now."It's one that no one has been able to successfully overcome, and one that we are tackling head one," Mara said."Not only are we happy to take it head on, but a number of operators in the region will be tackling this issue in the coming months, because this is not something that can be sustained," he told the gathering.URCA Director of Policy and Regulations Steven Bereaux stated that while he understands the grievances of ICT operators, URCA will be taking a balanced approach in considering the issue, which he predicts will become very topical soon."I think it is important when we consider this issue, which will become a significant regulatory issue, that we consider holistically what these services mean to people, how they work and how or who they should pay," Bereaux said. "Whether the issue is revenue or regulation, it can be handled in many ways. We must be cautious. Disruptive technologies have been changing the way we work for a long time; even mobile was once disruptive. We must consider the perspectives of all stakeholders."BTC CEO Leon Williams believes that, though VoIP has not been a significant issue for the company thus far, BTC supports the CANTO stance as these providers rapidly grow. "CANTO's point of view is to simply level the playing field for legitimate licensed telecoms providers. We are all migrating to 4G, which is built for data; it is inevitable that there will be WhatsApp and other applications. However some are exploiting the infrastructure without paying licensing or termination fees. Also, these apps use significant data, degrading the quality and security of service; or, alternately, they increase the cost of data capacity to the provider, which would be passed on to the customer. So we support CANTO from a regional perspective."Williams added that though BTC has not yet planned any local action, the company has always sought to go above and beyond to adapt to the needs of the customer, pointing to BTC's past VoIP policies."As to the way forward locally, we have not set a specific plan," said Williams. "We always look to accommodate the customer. Look to VIBE, our own VoIP product [that] we launched in the 1990s as an alternate to predatory services. The product eventually cannibalized our long-distance and we had to replace it in 2011 with our HomePhone Plus, which provides long distance at more affordable rates. But now, as we did then, we seek to find a solution that benefits our customers, the company and the regulatory environment. We will be working in conjunction with CANTO to address this."

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