More Fallout From FCC VoIP Decision

EconomyGuy writes "While many of us have been celebrating the recent FCC decision to keep regulation off of VoIP, but there may be some undesirable results for those progressive geeks who believe government should do more than provide military defense. As VoIP takes off as a replacement for the traditional copper-wire network, local and state governments are going to lose more and more funding for important services like 911 and Universal Service."

Comments

Tax Cuts are going the wrong way ....

[Gopal.V]

VoIP is nice, but it's overrated for most purposes IMHO. It's just trading the over inflated rates that most telepone companies offer for a lossy/crackling voice channel (my experience).

I'm not American , but I see America going the wrong way and cutting funding for the wrong things (ok, it's not a socialist state) ... Education, Healthcare, Emergency services are things which have intangible returns on investment.

Imagine a police force based on capitalism .. what would be it's return on investment .... oh, wait ...

Re:911 sucks

[dattaway]

Think that was bad? Someone broke into my house. Waiting time on 911 was 15 minutes. Police showed up 2 hours later.

This was four years ago. Could it possibly get any worse?

WHAT?

[Lord Kano]

• As VoIP takes off as a replacement for the traditional copper-wire network, local and state governments are going to lose more and more funding for important services like 911 and Universal Service.

What? It's the 21st century. The Universal Service fee is bullshit. What part of the country is without telephone lines?

The Universal Service fee is a subsidy for the well to do. Developers subdivide former farmland and put nice big houses on them. The phone companies need to build phone lines out to them, putting up poles, stringing cable and what not. The Universal Service Fee is a way for them to recoup that loss.

It isn't about providing phones to poor underpriveledges children in Arkansas.

LK