lesopp
join:2001-06-27
Land O Lakes, FL
| reply to Fierytemplar
My Two Cents (not including the USF)
I disagree. VoIP is an evolution in communications that already has competition, unlike the current ILEC model, and forces the local and long distance providers into an "infrastructure provider only" role. Furthermore, it will force these same providers to compete and evolve, something regulation has failed to accomplish.
Where current VoIP providers "dump" calls into a LATA there are access circuits and the access circuit providers are passing along all fees and associated taxes. So to say the VoIP providers don't participate in these legalized fiduciary theft programs is patently false. Further, the industry selling VoIP providers access into a given LATA have no business complaining because they are not forced to sell to the VoIP providers.
Lumping VoIP into the current telecommunications model is no different than saying IM, email, or even walkie-talkies are telecommunications services. It should be placed into a new category called "content communications" and regulated only to ensure interoperability. Everything else is a function of infrastructure and should be regulated there.
Regulating VoIP in the current telecommunications model is the wrong approach and will only hurt the US consumer. |
