Posted on 10/19/2004 8:32:15 PM PDT by lainie
BOSTON - FCC Chairman Michael Powell said Tuesday that he would seek broad regulatory authority for the federal government over Internet-based telephone services to avoid stifling the emerging market.
Powell told a receptive audience at an industry conference that letting states regulate Voice over Internet Protocol,or VoIP, services would lead to a patchwork of conflicting rules like those which have ensnarled the traditional phone business for decades.
To do so, Powell said, "is to dumb down the Internet back to the limited vision of government officials. That would be a tragedy."
After his speech, Powell told reporters he expected to introduce a proposal to the full Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) in less than a month, and definitely before a new Congress begins its session in January.
"We cannot avoid this question any longer," he said. "It is very likely that treatment of VOIP will have some of the farthest reaching consequences of anything this commission has done or will do."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Big ol' pantload alert.
because the states can't be trusted to STIFLE THE EMERGING MARKET by themselves?
Leave it to a Leftist bureaucrat to think that regulation is the gateway to freedom. What a frickin' moron.
Mess with the freedom of the Internet at your own peril, Mr. Powell.
And good luck to the FCC trying to regulate VOIP services run overseas! LOL!
LoL that was my first reaction as well.
Its complicated.
There are a hundred protocols in comms and some one has to make them all play together.
Its a lousy non rewarding job but it has to be done.
Bill gates tryed to shove it down our throats.
This action is intended to keep private interest from running the show
Is this the same dim who contributed money to the Kerry campaign?
UNINTENTIONAL COMEDY INDEX = 10!
Keep your filthy stinking hands off of our internet!!!!!!
Do you have a VOIP open source program you recommend? I've been using Net2Phone but want to go completely free of company influence (eveb more than I did before with Mikey deciding to f with things).
Why does 'someone have to make them play together?' Can't we just let the market decide? It did with Betamax and VHS!
He want's to keep VOIP from stifling the land line business of course. No doubt he is in bed with SBC, etc.
there are a lot of folks with a lot invested in these emerging markets.
They arent working for free.
Many have been working for a decade to get the uooer hand on this stuff.
It wont be free to consumers. Im not defendinf this guy but the Gov either has to have oversight or allow a monopoly.
Or TRY TO BALANCE
Uooer =Upper
L0L
Would someone explain the logic behind that statement?
The pres wants to keep this open to growth but some regulation will occur.
I want he pres to defend the users of the net more than the providers.
Damn this is complex.
We are building a new society here. We cant have monopolys, in the private world or the gov world, but we do need honest oversite,...which either goes to the people, or the gov by proxy
Chairman P's inferring that, if the feds don't take charge now, we'll all be slaves to the states which 'just can't get along' in these matters, and it will be a befuddling mess that we poor ignorant slobs just won't be able to navigate.
Sorry, m.l., but I see no valid reason for the feds to get involved with it at all. First of all, VOIP can't be regulated.. like was said above. There's nothing saying the three choices you offered are the only ones.. in fact, they can't be. It's a different world than when America was first electrified and telephony'd.
Running cables and such does require cooperation between municipalities. Doing stuff over the Internet isn't nearly the same thing in my book.
I agree. In fact, I think the only thing the FCC can do is regulate companies which try to INTERFACE between the VOIP world and existing telephone infrastructure.
the main deal is having control over the company that becomes top dog.
Our current pres is fanning progress, but the gov WILL regulate the winner. They have to or the others will bitch.
Hell they'll bitch any way :^)
VOIP will Kill regular phones. and ATT And others helped develop VOIP.
ITS COMPLICATED
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.