FCC Rules On Pulver Free World Dialup

An anonymous reader writes " Light Reading is reporting that the verdict is in on Pulver's FWD. 'The first big decision was a victory for VoIP proponents. The commission ruled that Pulver.com's Free World Dialup VOIP service is an information service, not a telecommunications service. The decision was based largely on the analysis that it doesn't fit the 1996 Telecom Act's definition of a telecommunications service.' To me this was a no-brainer on the part of the FCC. Let's see if they get the rest right too."

Comments

If you want to join...

[ArbiterOne]

Apparently it's free... but the site was down when I arrived. The main site can be confusing, but the FWD site is: http://www.fwd.pulver.com.

Why VOIP is not a communication thing

[moduc]

I love VOIP. Also, having free call over the world is great. However, I just cannot understand why VOIP is not a communication medium, and why the FCC has to decide whether to impose rule on it or not. It's is another way to transfer voice right? So, it does not work like a phone, but it does what a phone does - providing a mechanism for 2 people or more talking to each other. Maybe it should not be regulated because if doing so would slow the adoption of this technolog. But to decide whether it's like a telephone or not, to be fair, I think it's just like telephone or TV, no difference.

Re:Why VOIP is not a communication thing

[oldave]

Telephone companies have been regulated because they have traditionally been monopolies.

The main reason is that it simply makes no sense financially for another company to hang wires to the same houses.

VOIP doesn't have the same financial implications, and will introduce competition, particularly in the long distance markets.

Television (broadcast - cable and satellite are different animals), on the other hand, uses a finite resource - electromagnetic spectrum. Channel assignments are regulated, which makes sense. I've never been comfortable with content regulation, but that's a discussion for other threads.

Re:Why VOIP is not a communication thing

[mikewas]

But the traditional voice circuits are carried over copper or glass, no electromagnetic spectrum required there. Satelite & RF links are rarely used for circuit switched voice anymore, the quality of service over copper wire or glass fiber is better & the high capacity makes costs low. Does that mean my landline phone is not a communications thing? VoIP is also most certainly a commnication thing, but part of the FCC's charter is to encourage communications technology for the common good. There are financial implications, and they are intentionally "unfair". What we have now, at least in the US, is a very uneven playing field. There are different catagories of companies that provide phone service (they are vying for the same consumer dollars) but are treated differently:

The incumbent landline company is still regulated even though they no longer have the advantage of being a monopoly.

Non-incumbent landline companies are much less regulated.

Mobile providers are taxed at a lower rate and are required to supply fewer emergency services (though this is changing).

VoIP is almost completely unregulated and untaxed. Provides almost no emergency services other than passing the user to the PSTN network.

VoIP suppliers, and to a lesser extent the non-incumbent landline providers & the mobile service providors, are riding on the coattails of the incumbent landline service providors. They get cheap facilities & services, are held to a lower requirements of service, and are taxed at a lower rate.

The incumbent is required to lease facilities to competitors at a rate based on the cost of those facilities. Then, when the incumbent needs additional facilities (because it was required to give them to its competitors) they must build new facilities at a higher cost. This puts them at a huge competitive disadvantage, eventhough there are charges applied to other providors that are funnelled to the incumbent (to offset the cost of providing service to everyone, emergency services, inexpensive/free service to schools, libraries & the poor, a higher quality of service. So there are huge financial implications and they are arificially skewed.

There is reason to favor the new technology, or at least there was. It makes it easier for new services & technologies to develop. However, in my opinion, it's time for VoIP to pay its own way. The technology is there, it has been around for quite some time now. It already makes tremendous sense in some areas e.g. a campus or company with excess data transmission capacity can make use of the spare bandwidth for voice. The hotel I'm in has integrated data & voice facilities, since many travellers to business hotels now require high speed network connections this scheme works well. It's even beginning to make sense to replace traditional switched circuit facilities -- I visit many Central Offices that belong to different telephone companies (wireline & wireless). Almost every CO I've been in recently has VoIP. They aren't tearing out their traditional switches but most have passed the trial stage and are using VoIP for growth now. Expect changes, VoIP will be expected to hold its own soon.

Re:Why VOIP is not a communication thing

[Crypto Gnome]

I have a counter argument for you

In that case, how is VoIP different from recording a message and ataching it in an email? The series of messages sent mack and forth constitute "two or more people talking to each other" so FCC should regulate email.with exactly the same fees and requirements as landlines (because *that's* actually what's at question here)

Oh and ditto for file-sharing networks because people could be sending back-and-forth MP3s of snippets of conversation. And also Instant Messaging.

Or even (gasp) The Internet! Every TCP session is a "communication" between two parties - so we need FCC fees and regulations aplying to every single TCP session we create. Obviously we need E911 services (one of the regs which would apply) available for every-single-IP address (ie we need to know EXACTLY where you are physically when you're on the internet at all times)

Now do you see how simple-minded your thinking is?

You made the classic mistake of boiling down the definition of "telecommunications" to its most basic brain-dead terms, and then applied that brain-dead definition to an advanced service. Of course you completely forgot that (mathematically speaking) to balance an equation you need to do the same operation to both sides - which would mean applying brain-dead regulations to VoIP (as you have so clearly suggested)

Damned English!

[SharpFang]

FCC Rules On Pulver Free World Dialup

For damn long while I pondered what the hell they mean in the message. World Dialup is Pulver Free, that is Without Pulver. And what does FCC rule on this Pulver Free Word Dialup? The rest wasn't much easier either, until "Pulver.com's"...

Headline

[Anonymous Coward]

So I've they'd ruled against them would the headline have been "FCC Sucks On Pulver Free World Dialup"? :)

This won't last.

[bryanp]

1) The big Telco's start revamping their systems so that they are giant VOIP systems.
2) Tax revenues plummet.
3) Congress says "I don't think so."
4) Tax laws are amended.
5) Tax revenues go back up (Govt. version of Profit!)

No, no ??? line in this one. It's too obvious.

Re:This won't last.

[Roofus]

Oooh! I can play! This time I'll be the Cable Operators.

1) Cable COs see that VOIP competition is eating away at a new market they want to be a major player in.

2) Said Cable COs roll out DOCSIS 2.0 wih Quality of Service (QoS) provisions.

3) Cable COs give their VOIP packets highest priority, and everybody else low priority.

4) Customer calls to complain that their 3rd party VOIP is choppy. Customer service says "We can switch you over to our jitter-free service for only $5 more per month!"

5) VOIP competition dies.

Of course...

[mgcsinc]

Of course, this doesn't prevent congress from creating a bill that does apply to such services...

SIPphone

[Swe3tDave]

i got a free SIPphone software with my LindowsOS, you have to know someone who his also connected to the SIP network for this to work.. So its useless for me anyway..

Re:SIPphone

[LostCluster]

No, this is exactly what Free World Dialup is all about. You get a number assigned to you by Pulver, and that's associated with your SIP connection information. You can then sign up with one of several VoIP-to-PTSN connection companies, and suddenly you have a 10-digit dialable number that leads to your SIP software.

Of course, you'll have to pay for the VoIP-to-PTSN connect, and that's the service the FCC will regulate, Pulver's number assignment process however is not something that the FCC is going to complain about.

another perspective

[r5t8i6y3]

DSL Prime: Telco Cowboys, Mr. Pulver to D.C.

A rare victory for small business in VoIP should not obscure the fact that DSL competition is fading across America.

by Dave Burstein
DSL Prime
[February 13, 2004]

"Deliver 100 meg to almost all Americans."
-- John Cioffi. Ivan Seidenberg of Verizon, Brian Roberts of Comcast, and Bob Blau of BellSouth all recently spoke of moving to 50 and 100 Megs.

They delayed the FCC meeting this morning, but as this issue is going out Jeff Pulver should be getting miraculous news at Thursday's FCC meeting. None of us believed his Free World Dialup petition had any chance, despite the logic of moving voice to the net. "Mr. Smith"--actually, Mr. Pulver, a small businessman--went to D.C. and convinced officials his cause was right. The phone companies realized they can still game the system and stay ahead, and even the FBI offered to compromise on ruling the internet.

Friday is also the day for bids on AT&T Wireless, a deal that will probably go down because $300 million in commissions and accelerated options are at stake. Amazing that bids are at $30 billion for an outfit whose profits are negligible and headed negative, and whose management wants to cash out. Buying AWE is essentially a bet spectrum will go up dramatically in price despite the return of the analog TV band, SDR, and the FCC's plan to make more available. It's time for John Wayne CEOs to ride into the sunset.

Meanwhile, our technology produces everyday miracles. Jef Raskin writes "just gave a talk in Graz, Austria, via iChat AV. Real time voice and video, both ways. We set up the session by discussing it (at no extra cost above my standard DSL line) via audio, video, and text (all simultaneous)." His California Pac Bell connection may soon go to 3 Mbps+ down, 600 Kbps up, making that even easier. Everyone who cares about the user experience should read Jef's The Humane Interface.

Last week, yet another CEO told me how important the interface is, then showed me something second rate. Imagine if the designer of the Macintosh defined your user experience. Companies like Verizon, (whose install is thankless) or gateway/set top vendors should get it right by bringing in Jef, a friend, or similar talent.

Martin on Competition "Time now to speak"
"I'm proud to have stood up for what I believe was right"
"I'm afraid we may be losing some of the battles" to preserve the competition that currently exists. "Policy-makers in Washington are not debating the benefits of the services you offer," he said. "They are too frequently debating how much of the rules should be eliminated, and how should the changes be made to be more fair to the incumbents."

"If you have a message to deliver, I think the time is now . . . . Speak now or forever hold your peace. You must now be your own champions." (From Telecommunications Reports)

Editor's opinion: The right choice is either strong competition or strong regulation. If we don't want direct regulation of telcos' rates and profits, then we need regulation that creates thriving alternatives. Incumbents' economies of scale and financial power allow them to crush others unless curbed. As far as I'm concerned, calls for policies that cripple competitors are also a call for strong government intervention to keep prices down. One day, I'll report a Tauke or a Whitacre call for limiting CLEC access using the headline "Verizon/SBC calls for return to strict rate of return regulation"--the alternative implied if they kill the opposition.

Telco Cowboys
Repairmen to John Wayne CEOs
Ed Whitacre wants to spend $30 billion on AT&T Wireless, building an empire deserving of Ozymandias. He's blind to the AT&T folk desperately looking for an exit, as profit heads towards zero and beneath. Decimated Ameritech has lost $30 billion or more in value, and would have required a career-ending write-off except for an accounting l

What now? I'll tell you what now.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ok, replying to myself

On this page it told me what to do:
http://lists.trolltech.com/qt-interest/2003-1 0/thr ead01300-0.html

If you are behind a NAT/Firewall, the configuration
should look as follows:

Full Name: 19489
User Part of SIP URL: 19489
Host Part of SIP URL: fwd.pulver.com
Outbound Proxy (Optional): fwdnat.pulver.com:5082
Authentication Name: 19489

If you access the Internet directly, donot use
outbound proxy.

Here, replace 19489 with your account. You can apply
for a FWD account from www.fwd.pulver.com.

Well, none of that was obvious to me, but maybe I've smoked too much wacky in my time.

First off, ugly old version of qt app. Is there another app for this in linux?

Second, tried all the audio settings, and it sounds pretty bad. Definately am radio quality and a little choppy. I'm on a dsl connection and a very clean connection. I get no/minimal packet loss in other realtime apps (streaming music, online gaming) I just tried phoning their 411 and 612 for time just to hear the quality so I didn't actually speak to someone so I"m not sure how bad the lag is in talking to someone in realtime, but just on judging this audio quality of what I'm hearing I don't have my hopes too high.

Are there other codecs available to install to make it sound better? Or maybe a different SIP host to smooth out things? I've always thought voip could be cool but everytime I try it I"m disappointed. I've never tried but heard that skype one made by kazaa is amazing quality for windows only though. Not sure if that's actually true, but if it is, what are they doing different that some of these other apps?

The Day I became an Object Noun

[jeffpulver]

Looking back, this has been one of the best weeks in my life, at least from the perspective of my life experiences in business.

During the FCC February 2004 Meeting, while agenda item #4, the FWD Petition was being granted, I gave up counting how many times the name "Pulver" was mentioned in the proceeding.

After thinking about this, I believe we witnessed the transition where my name became an object noun which will be associated with the petition that I filed on behalf of Free World Dialup on February 5, 2003.

Re:Sounds cool, just installed Kphone now what?

[tjansen]

1. Note that kphone is more a research project that end-user friendly software. It became much better in the last year though.
2. The user part is your number, e.g. "17556" (my number). The host part is "fwd.pulver.com". The outbound proxy is "fwdnat.pulver.com:5082" and the authentication username is "17556". If you are on a NAT, you should go to 'SIP Preferences'/'Socket' and set 'Stun server' to yes.
3. SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol.

Re:Dupe

[Dun Malg]

No, it's not a dupe. Let me quote from the story you link:

"The FCC will be holding an Open Commission Meeting [PDF] Thursday. Number one on the agenda is a 'Petition for Declaratory Ruling that Pulver.com's Free World Dialup is neither Telecommunications nor a Telecommunications Service.'"

Notice the future tense. The FCC hadn't ruled yet. They were going to make a decision. This story is abut the decision they made. Whether the ruling was a foregone conclusion is debatable, but that doesn't make it a dupe. Get a clue.

A little bit of background here

[Anonymous Coward]

This ruling was awaited, but it is the easiest in the long VoIP cases yet to be judged. FWD is just a signaling/directory service, from what I understand.

Now consider Vonage which sells phone service on top of broadband, yet is not registered as a telephone service provider. Or AT&T who claims that its VoIP phone-to-phone services are not subject to the same regulation than other phone-to-phone services.

The key issue yet remaining to be assessed is the question of access charges. These are the cost billed by a local carrier to a long distance carrier, which is much higher than the cost of the very same local leg leased to, say, an individual or a business.

AT&T, preceded in this regard by many other smaller long-distance carriers are using local business lines to deliver regular phone-to-phone calls on the local market, in order to go around access charges. AT&T claims that because it uses the Internet to carry the calls, they are VoIP and should be free of access charge. Obviously local carriers don't really see it this way...

My guess is that the FCC wanted to look pro-Internet in this big VoIP debate, so it is ruling now on FWD before they have an opportunity to look at the Vonage ("PC/phone") and AT&T ("phone/phone") cases. These two are much trickier to regulate and their implications, whatever the outcome may be, will be far-reaching.

JUST SAY NO TO TAXES

[firstadopter.com]

It looks like FCC is leaning toward saying VOIP will not be taxed. That is pretty neat, look at your monthly phone bill and see how much we're paying in taxes. Insane.

Re:Ok, now I'm interested, but,

[jeffpulver]

go to: http://pulver.com/fwd/downloads

there is a port for Kphone for Linux

There is a negative side too

[fpn]

Not that I like the large telcos or excessive regulations, but there are many good social services that regular telephone companies are legally required to provide at their expense that these new VoIP companies will not have to provide:

- Free access and services for the disabled, e.g. speech to text translators for the deaf/mute and hearing/speech impaired as well as mute people. (You call a 1-800 number and a person types what you say into a TTY and tells you what the other person wrote and vice-versa)

- Cheaper rates for the poor

- 911 location service - e.g. you have a stroke at your home and call 911 and can't speak, they can still locate you

and there are quite a few more.

best regards,
Florian