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FCC Forum Divided on Future VoIP Regulation

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the not-a-question-of-if dept.

ElCheapo writes "As the great philosopher Eminem once said, 'The FCC won't let [VoIP] be, or let [VoIP] be free.' In Washington today, the FCC held a public forum 'to gather information concerning advancements, innovations, and regulatory issues related to VoIP services.' Slashdot has seen numerous stories on VoIP regulation recently, but Tom Evslin, CEO of ITXC, brought up another point: If VoIP is over-regulated, it will not go away, it will just move to other countries and reach the point where regulation can no longer be enforced. With or without VoIP regulation, will a global P2P (PSTN-connected) voice network emerge? Will it start out as hobbyists setting up Asterisk Open Source PBX boxes connected to their home POTS line? Will some form of ENUM allow least cost routing to boxes sitting in basements and garages around the world? If an ITSP in Europe can setup an Asterisk box with PSTN access and start offering US phone numbers and vice-versa, will global number plans become obsolete? What effect will the ridiculously low barrier to entry for VoIP have on telecommunications?"

5 of 232 comments (clear)

  1. Is this an essay test? by plexxer · · Score: 5, Funny

    With or without VoIP regulation, will a global P2P (PSTN-connected) voice network emerge? Will it start out as hobbyists setting up Asterisk Open Source PBX boxes connected to their home POTS line? Will some form of ENUM allow least cost routing to boxes sitting in basements and garages around the world? If an ITSP in Europe can setup an Asterisk box with PSTN access and start offering US phone numbers and vice-versa, will global number plans become obsolete? What effect will the ridiculously low barrier to entry for VoIP have on telecommunications?

    Answer each question completely, citing examples whenever possible. Use the back of Slashdot for scratchwork if necessary.

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    In times of crises, they alter it to suit their needs.
  2. What will emerge by mindstrm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    is a global voip network, and pots will become largely irrelevant in connected areas.

    The need for pots to internet gateways is what holds us up now.. think of how things owrk once most people are all using voip.. suddenly, it's all software.. adn hooking people together for voice stuff no longer needs ANY kind of centralizing....

    it won't be regulated, as ultimately, it can't be.

  3. Just The Facts by Pave+Low · · Score: 5, Informative
    For those who want to know what the issue is about, instead of scanning the submitter's poor writeup filled with his slant and myriad questions, here's a better article on what's going on.

    FCC Chairman Powell Opposes Internet Phone Regulation.

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    SIG:Slashdot: indymedia for nerds.
  4. Regulators irrelevant by nv5 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Once you have any data stream over IP, it is pretty difficult to regulate, since it can be disguised on varying port numbers, encryption (which is probably a good idea anyway) and other techniques. Regulation tends to work on the big conglomerates, since they operate so much in public. A homespun underground cottage industry movement is very difficult to control (see P2P). Therefore I find the discussions about regulating VoIP rather irrelevant.

  5. POTS/PSTN Defined by romper · · Score: 5, Informative

    For non-telco-speaking Slashdotters..

    POTS = Plain Old Telephone System
    PSTN = Public Switched Telephone Network

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