Paraguay accused of attacking net neutrality

PARAGUAY ACCUSED OF ATTACKING NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Association for Progressive Communications]
“An attack on net neutrality and an act of censorship,” was how Miguel Acosta, editor of New York-based Paraguayan newspaper Mirador Paraguayo, referred to the measure taken by the Paraguayan Communication Company (COPACO) to block the session initiation protocol as of 22 June 2007. This protocol allows access to Internet telephony or voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) at costs well below those of traditional phone companies. In a related development, a recent report by the state-owned Importers and Exporters Network of Paraguay recommended eliminating COPACO’s monopoly in access to international optical fibre cables, and drastically changing the position on Internet telephony “in order to overcome technological backwardness”. However, for the country’s president, “this is not the right moment.” VoIP is not a “service” that can be provided and controlled by telephone companies. It is a freely available technology over Internet protocol which greatly reduces the cost of voice communication. This system became very popular precisely because of its low cost, and caused controversy in Paraguay and elsewhere due to the competition created for conventional private and state telephone company monopolies.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5245900