Demystifying VoIP

The acronym VoIP is very commonly used these days and it is also very misunderstood in certain parts of the world, especially so in Bangladesh. I felt compelled to put pen to paper after recently reading an article in a periodical published from Dhaka which described the status of VoIP in Bangladesh and BTTB's intentions in relation to managing it.

I was bemused to learn that BTTB is in the process of building a common platform, at a cost of Tk 250 million in four areas of Bangladesh for routing Internet telephone calls, in the name of monitoring and safeguarding the security of the country. I am perplexed as to why such an expensive project needs to be undertaken for a struggling nation like Bangladesh at its taxpayers' expense. The Internet, though a creation of the US government and popularised by academics in its early days, only became a commercial success and a household name when it was allowed to grow organically.

Governments of many rich and resourceful countries and influential and powerful businessmen (including the world's richest man Bill Gates) have tried to control the Internet in some way and failed. If certain restrictions are placed on a connection via Internet, it's only a matter of time before intelligent computer professionals and users find another way to get the job done.

The Internet is public domain, it belongs to the users of the Internet right around the world and attempts by governments to control the Internet has so far proven unsuccessful. So why spend so much money on a project in the name of security?

Wouldn't this money be better spent improving the telecommunications infrastructure of our impoverished country? After all, we must fight terrorism as a social issue not a technology issue. If terrorism is truly being plotted using VoIP technology then the perpetrators will simply move on to another technology when VoIP is monitored or blocked.

Who are the real beneficiaries of VoIP?
In 1981 my father, while living in Australia, spent $75 talking over the phone to my mother in Dhaka for 5 minutes. Back then as a student $75 was almost a quarter of his monthly living allowance. I myself spent $50 for a 20-minute conversation with my mother in Dhaka while studying in Sydney in 1993. Today Bangladeshi students living in Australia can make a 20 minute phone call to Bangladesh for as little as $1 using a phone card which utilises VoIP technology.

But let's look beyond the absolutely fantastic cost savings enjoyed by the Bangladeshis living abroad when it comes to ringing their loved ones in every nook and corner of Bangladesh on account of the blessings brought about by VoIP technology and mobile phones. Before the advent of phone cards and other means of cheap phone calls over the Internet, the enormous phone bills for international phone calls were payable to phone companies in the country where the phone call originated.

Admittedly, a percentage of the bill went towards BTTB's revenue as it completed the local leg of the international call. However, foreign phone companies were free to charge whatever rate they felt was appropriate for a small country like Bangladesh. And the majority of the hard earned money of the Bangladeshis overseas went into the pockets of some large national or multinational phone company outside Bangladesh.

By using phone cards or the VoIP technology this money is being channelled back into Bangladesh in the form of termination costs in Bangladesh. Therefore, the remittance of VoIP termination money into Bangladesh can become a very large source of highly sought after foreign currency for the government. So the beneficiaries are:

-- Bangladeshis living abroad using VoIP
-- VoIP operator abroad
-- VoIP terminator in Bangladesh and
-- Receivers of phone calls from near and dear ones living abroad sitting in any remote areas of the country.

In most cases all the parties above are Bangladeshis, therefore it's a clear case of Bangladeshis living overseas and in Bangladesh helping each other.

Where lies the problem?
More than two years after BRTC's announcement that it will award VoIP licenses in January 2004, nothing has happened. BTTB, reportedly, is citing two main reasons against the privatisation of VoIP:

-- Government's inability to monitor VoIP calls
-- BTTB's loss of revenue

I have already discussed the flaws in the concept of trying to monitor all VoIP calls in and out of the country. In respect of BTTB's loss of revenue, in fact the solution is very simple and wouldn't cost BTTB or the government anything to set up. VoIP termination equipment has certain port capacity that allows it to terminate simultaneous phone calls accordingly.

BTTB, for example, can charge license fee of Tk 5,000 per port so that someone operating a 4-port gateway will pay Tk 20,000 as license fee per year. This will create a level playing field for all so that everyone, no matter how small or large, can enter the business and operate legally in their own right. An estimated 100,000 ports nationally would earn BTTB a revenue of Tk 500 million a year. BTTB can also run its own VoIP network if it wants to further increase its revenue. So BTTB's loss of revenue, to my assessment, is a misconception. It is simply a matter of earning that revenue through a different channel and, in my opinion, the sooner the licensing system is set up, the better it will be for BTTB.

What is the future?
Call terminators number in the several thousands across Bangladesh and that figure is growing. According to a report by an international telecom research organization, in 2004 Bangladesh was the third fastest growing destination for international VoIP traffic. A Google search of "VoIP Termination" reveals the extent of the availability of VoIP terminators in Bangladesh. Clearly, young, intelligent, entrepreneurial and driven Bangladeshis are not prepared to sit back while the rest of the world moves forward.

I have been appalled by reports in Bangladeshi newspapers about raids and arrests of VoIP operators. Young and honest people with initiative are being treated like criminals, while powerful and corrupt businessmen are given full protection in our democracy because of their connections in high places.

For a country like Bangladesh it is vital that we as a nation empower our people. Our people and our youth are our greatest assets and we must provide them with tools for self-improvement and enlightenment. There are thousands, possibly millions, of unemployed youths in Bangladesh, mostly tertiary educated but unable to find suitable employment.

A voice termination business can provide these youths with an opportunity to be self-employed. It gives them hope and keeps them away from adding to the social problem of unemployment and depression. It builds their technical skills and improves their communication abilities so that they can interact with people all around the world. International VoIP termination business for Bangladesh could be a viable solution to the unemployment problem, albeit, to some extent.

VoIP technology is enhancing the lives of Bangladeshis all around the world and creating opportunities for the youth of Bangladesh. Let's not ostracize the technology for misguided political reasons. True privatisation of VoIP will not only bring in lots of foreign currency into the country and empower its youth, it will also create other business opportunities and strengthen the IT industry in Bangladesh enormously. I urge the government of Bangladesh to look at the multitude of benefits privatisation of VoIP brings to the people of Bangladesh and to develop a scheme to issue licenses to terminators of all sizes around the country.

The author is a Bangladeshi who travelled to Australia in 1991 to study electrical engineering. He currently lives in Sydney, working as a network security engineer and operating a phone card business. He has been working with VoIP for 5 years.