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Last Updated: Feb 18th, 2008 - 14:39:01 |
VoIP’s Drawbacks
The promise of VoIP for businesses is two-fold:
(1) Efficient convergence of voice and data communications with a unified system platform in which data transmissions, email and voicemail are easily electronically stored under one system; and
(2) After initial installation, lower cost communications in which savings can be anywhere from 10 percent to 30 percent when compared to equivalent services offered by POTS (plain old telephone service) providers.
The possibility of law enforcement agency interception of VoIP communications and the prospect that local or state public utility commissions will have the authority to impose the common carrier obligations and tariffs upon VoIP providers pose significant operational and economic concerns to businesses and individual consumers alike. This has emerged as one of the major drawbacks in the effective implementation of VoIP.
Companies considering deploying VoIP may need to modify records retention policies for compliance with government regulations concerning investigations or relating to particular industry protocols. For instance, the securities industry maintains very strict standards regarding the retention of voicemails and other communications received from customers because there are frequent challenges regarding execution of trades. In light of the terrorist threats that this country faces, law enforcement agencies that are outside the scope of industry-specific regulatory bodies may also now impose their own regulations regarding retention of VoIP communications. This will inevitably require increased capacity for electronic storage beyond what may have been anticipated when the VoIP system was originally planned. Consequently, the costs of a VoIP system are bound to increase, possibly narrowing the gap between the cost and benefits of traditional POTS systems when compared to a VoIP system.
Furthermore, workplace rules regarding employer monitoring of emails, voicemails, and Internet access have become a fertile ground for much employment law related litigation. Typically, courts have decided that outside of an employee's wages, an employee's voicemails, emails, and navigations on the Internet, recorded through cookies, are the property of and subject to inspection of the employer. Employers are strongly advised to provide written notification to employees regarding these policies, however, prior to engaging in any kind of monitoring of telecommunication activity.
In addition, businesses will have to pay close attention regarding the debate over the funding of common carrier obligations. Future legislation could allow states to impose tariffs and taxes on VoIP providers for services such as 911 emergency calls, Universal Access, and access for disabled persons. These are the same common carrier obligations that are currently held by POTS providers. States are obviously very concerned that any dramatic shift in deployment from POTS systems to VoIP systems would decimate the coffers that pay for these services with no backup relief from the federal government.
On the other hand, VoIP providers decry such imposition of common carrier obligations by regulatory or statutory mandate because of the dramatic cost increase that would be imposed upon what is viewed as a nascent industry. Moreover, many critics fear that the taxation of VoIP would ultimately give rise to the taxation of Internet transactions or Internet access, as state, local, and federal government seek to find new sources of revenue.
These critics note that the Internet has grown dramatically not only due to freedom from government regulation but also to a large extent because it has been funded with government monies. As businesses decide how to upgrade their telecommunication abilities in response to the rapidly changing business climate created by the ever expanding reach of the Internet, they must carefully consider the costs attached to deploying a VoIP system and the various legal and regulatory concerns associated with VoIP.
Moreover, any new technology will have its detractors when it is implemented. Some consumer advocates have voiced concerns regarding whether VoIP has the quality and reliability to completely replace POTS services. Since VoIP represents the ultimate convergence of data and voice transmissions over the Internet, businesses implementing VoIP will face various regulatory and business record-keeping challenges with respect to email, voicemail, data storage retention and/or periodic destruction, spam, and viruses. Attorneys advising clients concerning the implementation of a VoIP telecommunications system must carefully guide their clients through a maze of various criteria in determining:
• Whether VoIP is appropriate for a particular client;
• Issues of email and voicemail retention and/or periodic destruction;
• Issues concerning interception of VoIP transmissions by law enforcement agencies;
• Issues concerning spam insertions in VoIP transmissions;
• Issues concerning the security of a VoIP system from private interception to the extent that the system employs wireless technology; and
• Issues concerning the prevention of viruses.
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