Chinese regulators are clamping down on Internet-phone services that aren’t provided by the country’s state-owned telecommunications companies, a move that could make services like Skype unavailable in the world’s more populous country. Voice-over Internet protocol, also known as VoIP, services are illegal on the Chinese mainland unless they are provided by China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Ltd.
The decision could become a roadblock for Luxembourg-based Skype. The company is seeking new users, especially business customers that pay to use premium services, as it gears up for an initial public offering. Skype is currently not banned in China.
The Chinese government’s decision comes after a year in which tension mounted between the country’s government and Internet businesses hoping to offer products and services to its population of 1.3 billion persons. Earlier this year, Google sparked a standoff with Beijing when it said it was no longer willing to comply with China’s self-censorship rules.
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