Skype has started registering with EU telecom regulators, after the EU Court of Justice ruled in June that SkypeOut should be considered a telecom service. Dutch regulator ACM announced that Skype has registered for regulatory oversight in the Netherlands.
The ACM had earlier threatened Skype with a fine, pending the court ruling, for not registering as a telecom provider. The sanction has now been withdrawn following Skype's registration.
Skype had claimed it was only a software company, providing an interface for the VoIP calls, while the actual signals are carried by ISPs and telecom carriers. The EU court disagreed, saying that the fact users must pay for access to SkypeOut and Skype must make agreements with telecom operators to terminate the calls is enough to consider it an electronic communications provider under EU law.
The ACM called for providers of similar services also to register with the regulator.
