Can Your ISP Prevent You From Using a Competitor's VoIP Service?

The Federal Communications Commission and international bodies have ruled in favor of "net neutrality" -- keeping open and equal access to the Internet and encouraging a competitive atmosphere for services and providers. This means ISPs and other types of providers cannot limit or deny access to services or applications through blocking accessibility, unequal pricing or claims that use of these services creates a burden on the network. However, some ISPs based in the United States and in other parts of the world have used these tactics to block or limit users' access to some applications, particularly VoIP services such as Vonage and Skype.

Internet service providers such as AOL offer proprietary Internet access services, such as email, chat and messaging to their subscribers. However, in addition to these services, users can add third-party options such as VoIP digital telephone. While some providers encourage Internet openness by creating better access to these third-party applications and services, others have prioritized their own offerings and either limited or blocked access to additional technology from outside providers, even though subscribers demand these services. Although limiting access to VoIP services violates rulings on net neutrality, providers such as U.S.-based ClearWire and Madison River and Mexico's Telemex have done so.

VoIP service, offering low-cost and virtually unlimited telephone access via digital signals over the Internet, can be blocked through regulation, pricing and access denial. ClearWire denied access to third-party VoIP service by claiming that it placed an excessive burden on the system and violated federal regulations. Other providers charge additional fees for VoIP usage or bump users to a higher plan, claiming excessive bandwidth usage. A third strategy, used by the U.S.-based Madison River ISP and state-owned ISPs in countries such as Mexico and Panama, is to block access to ports used by VoIP providers.

Although some ISPs continue to outright block or limit users' access to VoIP technology, the FCC has imposed fines for violation of net neutrality rules. Madison River, which denied VoIP access by blocking ports, was fined $15,000. In some cases, VoIP providers have helped users circumvent blockage and limitations. For example, Vonage offered its VoIP service users ways to avoid Madison River's attempts to block ports, and others have expanded plan options and reduced costs in efforts to keep services accessible in spite of efforts by ISPs in the United States and other parts of the world to limit or deny them.