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New York State Classifies Vonage As Phone Company
securitas writes "CNet's Evan Hansen reports that on Wednesday, the New York State Public Service Commission 'ruled that Vonage Holdings is a telephone company and thus subject to state regulation.' The decision is seen as a blow against the emerging voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) company and the industry in general."
Jeff Pulver created Free World Dialup, and AMAZING service that is free, and lets you make any domestic US call for free, as well as toll-free numbers in the UK and Japan.
He is an advocate in that he wants to keep VoIP free. They make money be selling SIP phones (some of what actually look really cool).
He sees this as a disappointment, because if taxes are applied, it's going to be quite difficult to give a person free long distance in the US (from anywhere in the world) for free. They don't even sell off e-mail addresses.
Vonal Declosion
Personally I hope this does not signal an end to their business model. I have had Vonage service for 6 months and I could not be more pleased. Thier billing and reporting is awesome. I can actually log into their site to view all incoming and outgoing calls. I can download my voicemail to a wave file. Meaning I can check it anywhere there is a computer with internet access and a sound card. But here is the real shocker. I had a problem sending faxes through their system. Called them up. Had a short wait time ~30 Seconds. They had my problem fixed within 5 minutes. Not only that but they actually asked about what hardware and software I was using to add it to their knowledge base. I was floored. Try having that type of service from Southwestern HELL. Not to mention saving $30.00 a month and having way more features. And the voice quality is excellent.