Making the wrong point in http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20209759 en Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:22:06 EDT Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:22:06 EDT Re: Making the wrong point http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20220677 xsiddalx : Great point.

In the old days, our long distance should have been free.

ATT/MCI/Sprint oddly enough would have been charities, or would have been googles.

Ed Whitacre has argued the same point...bandwidth is subsidized. The Telco is not about selling voice, they are about bandwidth....figure it out. The cable companies are sitting in the same seat...

I do agree though....Vonage was a hope of separating the delivering from the content.

said by PolarBear See Profile :

Everyone here is stuck debating whether or not Vonage is a phone service, when WHAT they provide isn't really the point. It's HOW they provide it.

The USF is to help pay for the deployment of physical lines to rural areas. Vonage does not own or construct any lines, thus can and will never use the USF. And if they can never use it, why should they have to pay into it?

Saying Vonage should pay into the USF is like saying xBox or PS3 should have to pay into the USF, because they use the lines, too. I can make voice "calls" with Skype, MSN/Win Live, and Yahoo Messenger, too, so should they have to pay into the USF? No, and neither should Vonage.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20220677 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:02:56 EDT Re: Making the wrong point http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20220628 xsiddalx :
said by PolarBear See Profile :

said by EPS See Profile :

Hm? If you call me on Vonage, the call is going to go over regular phone lines at some point to reach me... the call may not start out on the telephone network, but it'll go there eventually if you're calling someone on POTS.
Yes, the call may go over POTS lines. Lines that Vonage does NOT own, and did NOT pay to install. Lines that a DIFFERENT company used the USF to deploy.

As I said, Vonage CANNOT use the USF, thus, they should not be required to pay into it.
Vonage can't cuz their fat and happy where they are.

The same argument was made at one time within the cellular companies...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20220628 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:41:14 EDT Re: Making the wrong point http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20214270 PolarBear :
said by ryobiguy See Profile :

As I said, Vonage CANNOT use the USF, thus, they should not be required to pay into it.
I am forced to pay into Social Security, do you think it'll still be around in 30-40 years when I retire?
Apples to oranges.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20214270 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:15:44 EDT Re: Making the wrong point http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20212897 ryobiguy :
As I said, Vonage CANNOT use the USF, thus, they should not be required to pay into it.
I am forced to pay into Social Security, do you think it'll still be around in 30-40 years when I retire?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20212897 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:27:27 EDT Re: Making the wrong point http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20210169 zed260 : well what if an isp decides they wanna offer voip also they could sell voip nationwide

but wait they would not be covered under usf even if it goes over there lines]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20210169 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:10:54 EDT Re: Making the wrong point http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20209947 PolarBear :
said by EPS See Profile :

Hm? If you call me on Vonage, the call is going to go over regular phone lines at some point to reach me... the call may not start out on the telephone network, but it'll go there eventually if you're calling someone on POTS.
Yes, the call may go over POTS lines. Lines that Vonage does NOT own, and did NOT pay to install. Lines that a DIFFERENT company used the USF to deploy.

As I said, Vonage CANNOT use the USF, thus, they should not be required to pay into it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20209947 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:15:46 EDT Re: Making the wrong point http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20209916 EPS : Hm? If you call me on Vonage, the call is going to go over regular phone lines at some point to reach me... the call may not start out on the telephone network, but it'll go there eventually if you're calling someone on POTS.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20209916 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:10:25 EDT Making the wrong point http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20209759 PolarBear : Everyone here is stuck debating whether or not Vonage is a phone service, when WHAT they provide isn't really the point. It's HOW they provide it.

The USF is to help pay for the deployment of physical lines to rural areas. Vonage does not own or construct any lines, thus can and will never use the USF. And if they can never use it, why should they have to pay into it?

Saying Vonage should pay into the USF is like saying xBox or PS3 should have to pay into the USF, because they use the lines, too. I can make voice "calls" with Skype, MSN/Win Live, and Yahoo Messenger, too, so should they have to pay into the USF? No, and neither should Vonage.
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There comes a point in your life when you get tired of fixing everything and wiping everyone's ass. But it’s not giving up. It’s realizing that you don’t need certain people and the bullshit and drama they bring to your life.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20209759 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:36:25 EDT