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VoIP now legal in Zimbabwe?
Robert Ndlovu, ITNews Africa
October 02, 2008

http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1329

Has the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) finally seen the light?

If developments at Econet Wireless are anything to go by, VoIP is now legal in Zimbabwe. Or is it?

VoIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol — is the sending of voice calls over Internet Protocol as opposed to GSM or traditional switched network like PSTN that are relatively expensive.

Zimbabwe allows only local VoIP traffic. Which means a person in Bulawayo can call someone in Harare over the internet. But up to now it was illegal for anyone in Zimbabwe to make or receive international calls over the internet.

The Chronicle newspaper reported recently that Econet was granted a "go ahead" by POTRAZ to operate an international calling card platform in Zimbabwe. This so called ICC runs on VoIP using session initiation platform (SIP) as the signaling protocol.

" . . . the mobile telecommunications provider was last week granted authority to sell the cards in foreign currency under its new International Calling Card (ICC) platform.

POTRAZ finally gave the nod more than a year after Econet submitted an application to implement the system."

"The ICC system is one of our innovative products, developed in partnership with a United Kingdom-based provider where subscribers can purchase recharge cards in foreign currency and use the system to make international calls," Econet CEO Douglas Mboweni told the paper.

For what we know, Econet is a GSM wireless, 3G operator and an internet service provider via Ecoweb in Zimbabwe based on the licenses it was granted by POTRAZ.

The three IAPs — Telecontract, TelOne and Ecoweb — hold the IAP Class B licence, which is an internet licence that allows them to only transmit data using the internet and not voice. Has Econet now been granted IAP license class A which allows for VoIP ?

The recent announcement by Econet on their new calling card platform implies that VoIP has been legalised in Zimbabwe. That would be great news indeed.

But is that the case? Is that official? Or it's only for Econet?

VoIP Lawsuit - Econet vs Easi-E-Connect - July 2007

Sometime last year Econet took Easi-E-Connect directors Herbert Rinashe and Irfaan Valera based in Harare to court saying that they had defrauded Econet up to US$77,000. Econet claimed that this company was defrauding them by terminating VoIP traffic using the internet and Econet SIM cards.

Apparently this company beat Econet in implementing International Calling Card platform and the poor fellows were arrested for being innovative. Easi-E connect did not defraud Econet but were innovative enough to reduce the cost of calling from outside Zimbabwe using intuitive and smart VoIP /GSM technologies.

Let me explain what this company was accused and charged of.

Easi-E-Connect used the internet to receive telephone calls from around the world onto a GSM modem located in Harare. This GSM modem contained multiple SIM cards from Econet.

This is how it works. An overseas caller dials a certain access number in the UK, for instance, that will prompt the user to enter a PIN. After a correct PIN has been entered, the system will then prompt the caller to enter a destination number e.g. 0912 444 666, then the call will be routed over IP (internet) directly to a GSM modem connected to the internet in Harare.

Bear in mind this GSM modem in Harare has several SIM cards, legally sourced by the company from Econet. Then after receiving that call over IP the SIM then calls the desired number and the call is connected and people start talking.

This means the call from the SIM card in the GSM modem to any number in Zimbabwe is literally a local call. The time used by these SIM cards was prepaid or post paid for.

"This caused prejudice of US$77 000 to Econet in unlawful converted international incoming calls terminated minutes for the month of June 2007 alone . . . and nothing yet has been recovered," a Harare Magistrates' Court heard.

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