China Telecom blocking Skype in the Chinese market

There are more proof of the kind of limitations web users have to face in the world’s most populous nation. China already has a big censorship on what the press can post on the web and even the bloggers are monitored and are blocked from writing anything controversial. Recently Yahoo! was in a controversy regarding their support in the arrest of a journalist. Media claimed that the search engine company gave the Chinese government access to this mailbox to let them garner proof against him.

The latest news adds more to this fire. The nation’s largest fixed-line operator, China Telecom is apparently finding out ways to prevent telephone calls being made on the net similar to services provided by the popular Skype VoIP based service. Skype Technologies provides a free software, which enables the two users connected to each other through the internet talk to other.

In addition, they provide the facility of making phone calls on regular phones for a fee. This VoIP based technology is increasingly becoming a threat to the profitability of the telecom companies. As a result, China Telecom wants to prevent users in China from logging on to Skype’s server. The news was first reported by the Beijing Business Today.

The company is also reportedly considering monitor and control online data volume so that they can stop the users from using these services over a China Telecom broadband. In fact, the rumors of making these VoIP based software illegal in the country is also doing the rounds.