FCC To Hold First VoIP Hearings; Rules in 2004

securitas writes "The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold its first hearings on Internet telephony and VoIP regulation on Dec. 1 and plans to regulate VoIP by late 2004. A public comment period will follow the Dec. 1 meeting. Some say that it is overly ambitious to regulate VoIP by 2004, especially since FCC Commissioner Michael Powell does not have a strong reputation for clarifying complex issues - instead he has a reputation for confounding them. More at Internet.com and InternetWeek . FCC press release (PDF1|DOC1) and attached letter (PDF2|DOC2) to VoIP proponent Senator Ron Wyden, who sits on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee."

Comments

Re:Regulation not a universal evil

[BitGeek]

If we didn't have the safety regulations we have on cars today, CARS WOULD BE SAFER THAN THEY ARE NOW!

Without these standards, anyone who died in a car crash which could have been cheaply prevented would sue, and hte car companies would quickly make their cars as safe as possible.

Now, thanks to the government, they just have to comply with the crappy government standards, and get out of the suit-- because to provide a safer car would have been illegal (cause the standards are woefully out of date and pointless to begin with, yet prevent safer cars.)

All regulation does more harm than any possible good that can come from it. This is a law of physics-- you regulate soemthing from a central location (like congress) and you will never have enough bandwidth to keep your regulations up to date. Information theory mandates that all regulations from the government will do more damage than they can good.

Communism is an extreme proof of this situation.