FCC to Look at Phone Firms' Use of Internet to Carry Calls

Yahoo! News - Technology - WashingtonPost.Com ^ | Sat Nov 29,12:00 AM ET | By Christopher Stern, Washington Post Staff Writer

[Bobby777]

The telecommunications industry, eager to find a route around a 100-year-old regulatory regime, has turned to a new path: the Internet.

In the month since a federal court in Minnesota ruled that calls delivered over the Internet are not subject to state regulation, Qwest Communications International Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and SBC Communications Inc. have announced intentions to beef up their ability to deliver phone calls over their data networks.

The Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) traditionally has had a hands-off policy when it comes to regulating the Internet. But on Monday, it will hold its first hearing in its effort to decide whether it needs to step into an issue that has the potential to transform the industry.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

This would be a great idea if it ever happens. Whenever ridiculous taxes levied against us are removed, ( the New Jersey semi truck tax for example ) there is not solid proof ( for the masses ) that the tax was a stupid idea to begin with. And it usually takes a while to find it. A tax like this would kill the goose that laid the golden egg and it's effects would show up immediately with 100% accountability to those who caused it.

[stands2reason]

but then, SRV was quite a guitar player ...

Understatement of the millennium....

[pepsionice]

In Germany, when the state-run television mafia figured out that the internet would eventually take hold in the homes and bring vast amounts of media there...without cable or antennas...they went into action and put 'internet media' under the state tv tax. It was barely noticed in the state-run nightly news...but it protects the state-run tv mafia from losing their foothold.