China clamping down on "illegal" VoIP services

With a view to protect state-owned telecommunications companies, China Telecom and China Unicom, regulators are clamping down on Skype and other Western VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) providers.

Chinese telecommunications regulators described VoIP services as "illegal", unless these services are provided by state-owned telecommunications companies, a report published in the Peoples' Daily said.

The decision taken

The decision taken by the Chinese Ministry of Industry & Information Research was released in a notice a few weeks ago, however there is no confirm date for the implementation of the ruling.

Releasing the decision, the MIIT said in a statement, "We are currently working at the same time with relevant departments to launch a crackdown on illegal voice-over-IP telephony."