South Korea to block VoIP to U.S. military bases - report

Toms Hardware Guide ^ | July 7, 2006 13:51 | Humphrey Cheung

[Leto]

A spat between American VoIP companies and the South Korean government has threatened to shut down a communications channel between U.S. soldiers and their families. The South Korean Ministry of Information and Communications, their rough equivalent to our FCC, is trying to block and shut down several VoIP services including AT&T CallVantage, Lingo, Skype and Vonage, according to a report published by the Stars and Stripes military newspaper. VoIP is often used by U.S. service members as an inexpensive way of communicating to their families back home.

The Ministry of Information and Communications contends the VoIP companies have been running a de-facto telephone service without applying for the correct permits and complying with the country's Telecommunications Business Act. However, the issue goes a bit deeper than that and as it appaers, it's all about money once again.

[Leto]

This seems to be outrageous. The US soldiers are protecting these leeches and the Korean goverment is trying to blled the soldiers. Perhaps we should start charging a fee to the Koreans to cover OUR expenses, there would be a few bucks left over to reimburse the soldiers.

[EricT.]

Use TeamSpeak2.

[Gay State Conservative]

The Koreans are not our allies.Not the North Koreans and not the South Koreans.We should withdraw every single member of our Armed Forces from the peninsula and its surrounding waters.

They want reunification? They'll get it...in a hurry. Then we can hear from those in the southern part just how happy they are.

[Red6]

It's actually a "Free trade issue".

Ask if an American soldier is allowed to bring his car to South Korea. But you sure can buy one there!

The Germans use to do the same thing years ago. They would ban the importation of foreign phones even, after all we don't want any competition with the state held Telecom do we? But of course on every installation there was a state owned Telecom office (At that time still Bundespost) selling its phones.

These issues are about "money" and who makes it. False pretenses of health, safety, national security or sovereignty are used to push in reality protectionist policy.

[expat_panama]

False pretenses of health, safety, national security or sovereignty are used to push in reality protectionist policy.

Well said.

[jas3]

Ditto to that, brother. I've been saying the same thing for years. If the SKers don't want us there, we should stop acting "reponsibly" and treat them like the petulant teenagers they act like. Sometimes the only way to teach a lesson is to give someone exactly what they ask for. Be careful for what you wish....or you just might get it.

jas3

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We can do all the SK protecting we need to do from Guam.

[MarkeyD]

How is that different?

[ASOC]

Carter (Jimmy baby) vowed to have us our of Tae Han Chejkuk by the end of '76. Didn't happen.

Of course, if VoIP is blocked, they can always use MARS.

[EricT.]

It's not actually telephone since you don't make actual telephone calls to a specific number. It is more like ham or CB radio, except you set up a server and you can make private password protected channels that can be accessed anywhere with the client side software by any number of people at a time. All the client side needs to know is the server IP address. It is really designed for online gaming teams to communicate while playing, but it works effectively for voice comms.

[MarkeyD]

Don't Skype, Yahoo, MSN Messenger, all of which I use to make computer to computer calls do the same basic thing? Skype is mentioned in the article. I think it's the whole voice to voice communication without taxation which is the issue.

[Pro-Bush]

Sk Telecom has lost tons of revenue since the inception of VoIP. They won't go down without a fight. It is state run and highly regulated.

[Leto]

[b]Sk Telecom has lost tons of revenue since the inception of VoIP. They won't go down without a fight. It is state run and highly regulated.[/b][p]

Didn't know that, but I have to think US servicemen are a very small portion of that lost revenue. We are guest in thier country doing them a great service. IMO our guys are entitled to some special consideration.

[noah]

The Democtats idea about a timetable for withdrawal may be a good idea after all. It just needs to be applied to South KOREA NOW NOT IRAQ!!!

[jas3]

Whenever I agree with Carter on anything, I have to do a gut check to make sure my position is still correct.

But I usually end up arriving at the same conclusion for different reasons...sorta like Churchill hated Hitler, but Stalin also hated Hitler. Just because Stalin hated Hitler doesn't mean Churchill was wrong....

jas3