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FCC says VoIP providers are just like other telecoms
If you happened to be in the offices of Vonage, Packet8, SunRocket, or any other VoIP provider today, you most likely were witness to some high-fives and knuckle-taps by their top executives. The reason for that is that the FCC has ruled/declared/said that VoIP providers should be treated the same as your friendly neighborhood telecom which, according to one FCC honcho, means that VoIP-ers will be able to get access to the local phone company's lines, especially those designated for long distance.
What does this all mean? Really not a whole lot at this point, but the fact that the FCC says that VoIP providers should be treated the same as other telecoms may induce more consumers to jump ship from their local phone provider and go VoIP. Chairman Kevin Martin says this will increase competition when it comes to the phone service market. However, we'll have to see a greater increase in consumers opting for broadband internet access before this decision will have some real impact to it.
Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsAndrew Hillman, Andrew HillmanMar 7th 2007 8:36AM
Good deal!
Mike CohenMar 7th 2007 9:54AM
For those of us who use DSL service, there's little or no reason to switch to a VoIP service since we need to have a phone line anyway, and DSL only without phone service is a lot more expensive.
G.B.Mar 7th 2007 11:34AM
That's fine and dandy, but as a 911 dispatcher for a major city, I think people should know that several VoIP services are *still* not in compliance with Federal mandates for providing your location during a 911 call.
Normally, we get an Automatic Location Identifier (ALI) with an Emergency Service Number (ESN) that tells the system 1) which city/town's 911 call center to route to, and 2) where the phone is physically located (in the case of landlines). VoIP companies don't yet integrate into these systems well in a lot of cases. A simple solution would be to require people to put in their location before they log into the software, but people would cry "foul" with privacy concerns. Personally, I'd sacrifice that minor detail to be able to get help when I needed it, but as of right now, caveat emptor in regards to 911.
Andrew FluscheMar 7th 2007 12:17PM
The downside to this is that the FCC is slapping fees onto Vonage. Our $14.99/month plan now costs $19.49, with all the federal & local fees & taxes. It's still better than POTS, but not as cheap as it was.
Thomas TrautmanMar 7th 2007 12:29PM
Ruling is not going to help Voip companies. In the long run it may hurt them. G.B.'s post is just one of the problems. The 911 issue is huge. Not just getting the location information, but keeping the service active.
Your Voip service requires power and an internet connection to work. So for most people, when the lights go out so does your ability to call 911.
It gets worse yet. Your data carrier is not required to keep your connection alive during power interruptions. DSL is first thing dropped in outage (it's not FCC reportable). Same with your cable modem connection.
The fed's may end up squashing the VOIP's right out of business. Don't worry...AT&T will fill the gap.
http://www.vequalsir.com