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By Ben Charny, News.com
Posted on ZDNet News: Mar 11, 2004 12:35:00 AM

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday released guidelines that it will use to decide what rules, if any, will govern companies providing Internet telephone services.

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The guidelines consist mainly of a list of questions on which the FCC is seeking public comment. The FCC has already ruled that phone calls that never touch the public switched telephone network, so-called pure voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), should not be regulated.

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The FCC appears to have left room for a varied set of opinions. The agency will use the public comments to determine whether calls that travel over the Internet and the traditional phone network should be regulated, a key Internet phone regulatory issue.

"The changes wrought by the rise of IP-enabled communications appear to be revolutionary," the FCC wrote in the 96–page document.

VoIP is a technology for making phones calls that use the Internet Protocol, the world's most popular method for sending data from one computer to another. After years of overpromising and underdelivering, VoIP is generating significant interest among telecom carriers, corporations and consumers, thanks to significant improvements in quality of service.


News.Commentary
Heads up VoIP--regulation incoming
It's clear that the technology
will not completely escape
regulation or taxation.

VoIP is already being embraced by carriers as a way to cut traffic costs on international and long-distance calls, and it is expected to eventually replace the public switched telephone network, as big phone companies convert to IP-based fiber-optic networks. Currently, about 11 percent of all voice traffic is classified as VoIP, although less than 1 percent of those calls are initiated on a VoIP phone. The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday released guidelines that it will use to decide what rules, if any, will govern companies providing Internet telephone services.


Get Up to Speed on...
VoIP
Get the latest headlines and
company-specific news in our
expanded GUTS section.


The guidelines consist mainly of a list of questions on which the FCC is seeking public comment. The FCC has already ruled that phone calls that never touch the public switched telephone network, so-called pure voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), should not be regulated.

Audiocast
arrow Peekaboo! Cisco adds video functions to Net phoning technology.
play audio

The FCC appears to have left room for a varied set of opinions. The agency will use the public comments to determine whether calls that travel over the Internet and the traditional phone network should be regulated, a key Internet phone regulatory issue.

"The changes wrought by the rise of IP-enabled communications appear to be revolutionary," the FCC wrote in the 96–page document.

VoIP is a technology for making phones calls that use the Internet Protocol, the world's most popular method for sending data from one computer to another. After years of overpromising and underdelivering, VoIP is generating significant interest among telecom carriers, corporations and consumers, thanks to significant improvements in quality of service.


News.Commentary
Heads up VoIP--regulation incoming
It's clear that the technology
will not completely escape
regulation or taxation.

VoIP is already being embraced by carriers as a way to cut traffic costs on international and long-distance calls, and it is expected to eventually replace the public switched telephone network, as big phone companies convert to IP-based fiber-optic networks. Currently, about 11 percent of all voice traffic is classified as VoIP, although less than 1 percent of those calls are initiated on a VoIP phone.

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  • Most Recent of 5 Talkback(s)
Right On The Money
I sould assume that there is someone in the FCC who is fairly bright. If that is so, then why doesn't someone pull their head out where the sun shines and recognise the trueism that if the purpose of... (Read the rest)
Posted by: don3605 Posted on: 03/12/04 You are currently: Logged In | Log out
Guidelines for public review? Warlok42   | 03/10/04
VOIP vs. Public Telephone bigbearpcs2   | 03/10/04
FCC on VoIP Donophyn   | 03/12/04
Pure BS Tammee   | 03/12/04
Right On The Money don3605   | 03/12/04

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