South Korea Blocks VoIP - here we go again...

May 8, 2008
Do you recall my 2006 post about South Korea wanting to ban VoIP, which would also include U.S. military bases and military personnel serving in South Korea? Well, according to today's Vonage Form thread it appears South Korea has taken a playbook from the Great Firewall of China and is now blocking U.S. military personnel from making inexpensive VoIP calls back to the U.S.

The Vonage forum thread was started by a U.S. Air Force serviceman claiming that all of a sudden his Vonage service stopped working. Apparently, some ISPs have been blocking for a few months with others now joining the blocking VoIP parade.

The kicker is that it's the incumbent telcos and Korean-based VoIP service providers that have lobbied to block foreign-based VoIP service providers. As I wrote previously, the South Korean government, with the backing of major South Korean ISPs have pushed for the ban because of the unlimited flat-rate calling plans offered by American competitors. Gee, that's just great - you can't compete on price, so you simply block your foreign competitors. Where's the WTO (World Trade Organization) when you need em'?

I said it before and I'll say it again - perhaps you (South Korea) have forgotten about the blood, sweat, and tears shed by Americans in the Korean war?

Maybe this picture will refresh your memory...
Marine Korea Winter
"Bitter cold, Bitter fight" a weary U.S. Marine in Korea 1950

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