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Rolling Out Cloud Telephony? Be Aware of the Regulations

Migrating telecom services to the cloud is a catalyst for growth, improved efficiencies, and reduced costs. Enterprises considering cloud migration often spend a great deal of time and effort evaluating the particulars of implementation but may not realize they must also focus on regulatory compliance.
 
Governments around the world are directing increased scrutiny toward cloud platforms of all kinds to assure user protection and safety. In the past two years, two compliance initiatives launched with the goal of protecting and safeguarding the privacy of personal data and adherence to ethical business practices: the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Declaration. Both are now changing the landscape for compliance.
 
From a cloud telephony perspective, three important regulatory aspects need consideration: license acquisition, lawful intercept, and emergency calling.
 
  • Licensing -- Every jurisdiction has different needs and required permissions for providing telephony services. In all countries, acquiring telecom licenses is quite involved, and applications must be made in the local language. Permits or authorizations must be acquired in advance from the requisite authorities, a process that can be time-consuming, onerous, and expensive.
  • Lawful Interception -- Lawful interception (LI) is legally sanctioned access to private communications of individuals or organizations, such as telephone calls or e-mail messages, for the purposes of police use or national security. Lawful intercept is a legal requirement in almost every country around the world, but can be quite complex to manage. Businesses must make sure that the service provider delivering virtual numbers has the required technical infrastructure and resources to support LI in every offered country.
  • Emergency services -- Many governments require that every number, including virtual numbers, has the ability to make emergency calls to national short codes, for example 911 in the U.S. or 112 in France. The need is simple: No matter how complex or feature-rich the platform, access to local emergency services is essential to safeguard employee safety and security, as part of the enterprise’s duty of care toward its staff.
For enterprises and digital service providers looking to enhance their footprints and accelerate growth while remaining compliant to all regulations, BICS offers a straight path to cloud telephony. Read our “Cloud Communications and Regulatory Compliance” whitepaper here to learn more.