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Why VoIP Makes Telecom Regulations Irrelevant
An anonymous reader writes "BusinessWeek Online analyzes why state and federal regulators' attempts to label VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) a "telecommunications service" is wrong - and threatens to undermine the technology. It quotes Vint Cerf as saying: 'To single out VoIP as a telephone service is a terrible misunderstanding of the Internet industry. I would submit that, someday, the phrase Internet telephony will sound as archaic as 'horseless carriage' sounds today.'" We've also recently discussed Vonage's attempts to fight telecom regulation in Minnesota.
The US economy is fat-packed with industries kept above water through government protection and subsidies. The telecom industry is not going to give away their revenue stream without a fight.
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Long-term effects of Bush deficits
Vonage offers residential service cheap. I've had them for about 6 months, and am so far extremely happy with their service.
For $25/month, I get 500 minutes to anywhere in the US or Canada, and unlimited local. Anything over that is 3.9 cents/minute.
Or for $40, you can get unlimited.
Both plans include voicemail, caller id, call forwarding. You can also get a second # for $5 that will forward to your number. It's useful if you have out of state family that calls you frequently, and you want to make it a local call for them.
I don't work for Vonage, or have any stake in them, I'm just an extremely happy customer of theirs.
I pay $46 for my cable tv and cable modem, and $25 for the phone service. The $71 still comes out cheaper than my POTS was, and I get cable TV and cable modem.
VOiP users don't get access to 911 call centers though. So why should we have to pay for it? When I call 911 from my VOiP line, it goes directly to the police station, not the 911 call center.
Do you want reliable telephone service? Even if there is a power failure?
During the northeast blackout a month ago, my landline phone went dead also. Meanwhile, if Roadrunner had backup juice on their network, my broadband would not go out even in the event of a blackout (my home server, firewall, Tivo and Vonage ATA can live for 4 hours off the grid).
Do you want guaranteed availability of telephone service at uniform and reasonable rates, even if you live on a farm or in a slum?
Where there is broadband Internet, there can be VoIP. As last-mile broadband gets more economical via wireless and optical (along with traditional copper and cable), so will VoIP.
Do you want 911 service that works?
I can dial 911 from my Vonage home telephone just fine, thank you very much.
If Vonage starts overcharging, I will be happy to switch to another VoIP service, such as packet8.