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You bet they are, and now they're resorting to the spread of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) in respect to such things.

On National Radio this morning (where are the online archives guys?), Telecom spokesperson Matt Crockett was quoted as warning that people who use such systems as an alternative to traditional toll services face significant risks.

According to Telecom, users of Skype and other such systems run the risk of spam, viruses and all manner of other woes.

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Of course what they didn't mention is that those who stick to Telecom's traditional toll service run the risk of huge phone bills. Given the choice of a little spam in my throw-away email address and a phone bill amounting to the debt of a small third-world nation, I'd opt for the former every time.

However, the very fact that Telecom seem to have gone on the offensive by launching a FUD attack against Skype et al is a clear indicator that they are worried and running scared. And with good reason.

With VOIP services getting better all the time, and now that hardware providers are coming online with no-brain handsets that simply plug into your DSL modem, the days of paying whatever rate Telecom decides it needs for toll calls are rapidly drawing to an end.

Of course the telco has a few more tricks up its sleeve if things get really tough.

They could simply add more latency to their DSL network, and this is something they're legally allowed to do since they have never claimed it to be suitable for realtime services. If you've ever tried talking over a high-latency connection you'll know how unpleasant that can be -- so by doing this, Telecom could really make VOIP far less attractive.

But will Telecom go so far as to engage in such dirty tactics?

Well my money says yes.

We've already seen that Telecom does nothing unless it's threatened by the Telecommunications Commissioner or ITC minister -- and even then it works very hard to drag the chain.

But hang on -- if Telecom won't provide a VOIP-grade DSL connection, surely someone else will, especially if it means getting a good bite of the long-distance calling market as well.

Well I'm sorry, but we have to remember that there is nobody else in the DSL market except Telecom (thanks to the Government for not forcing unbundling of the local loop).

Indeed, even Telecom's "wholesaling" of the DSL service to other providers is a joke. Just try getting DSL connected if you don't have a regular Telecom (also resold as Telstra) phoneline connection and you'll see what I mean.

Telecom will only allow its resellers to connect up people who already have an active landline. This is probably another way that they manage to stop clever folks from totally dispensing with that $35-$40/month stipend that Telecom extracts (directly or indirectly) from virtually every household in the country.

VOIP over your DSL connection? Enjoy it while it lasts -- because it probably won't last much longer if Telecom has anything to say about it. They've fired their first salvo but it won't be their last.

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