A small group operating an unlicensed VoIP relay in the Philippines has been arrested in raids conducted by the local police and anti-fraud staff of cellular operator Globe.

The group has been found to operate a facility that routs international calls into Globe telecom’s cellular network without passing licensed International Gateway Facilities. This is done through Voice-over-Internet Protocol, and hence the company lets users call for a fraction of the price of regular international calls.

A cool idea, right? Well, maybe not in a country where the legality of VoIP is still in the grey. At present, only telcos given a Congressional franchise may operate international gateways. And even VoIP services are limited to accredited value-added service providers. The telcos are even opposing this, claiming that only licensed franchisors should be able to operate VoIP.

Sounds like backward thinking to me. But I do guess large companies have a strong lobbying influence with the powers-that-be, in this case, Philippine lawmakers. VoIP has been around since about half a decade, and yet, some people are not yet warming up to the idea that large and expensive telecom facilities have become passé—calls can now be routed through the Internet at a fraction of the cost, and with added features and benefits.