With the states pushing to regulate VoIP, the FCC begins dropping hints at how they'll handle the situtation. In a recent interview over at CNET, Powell was somewhat vague about how the FCC will handle the state push to have VoIP providers adhere to the same guidelines as telcos. As the industry looked on, Powell seemed less than sure of his own course of action. "We'll probably initiate something to look at it this fall," the FCC chief says. "But let me emphasize that we're going to look at it. That doesn't say what we're going to do about it. We only know that it's a growing issue."

Over the past few weeks, other FCC insiders have been only hinting at a possible agenda. According to Light Reading, the FCC will host a forum next month to better explore the issue.

Christopher Libertelli, Powell's senior legal advisor, recently noted that VoIP is delivered in three different ways (via private networks, over networks that touch the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and via peer-to-peer networks); the FCC considering different guidelines for each delivery method. Commissioner Kevin Martin shared concerns at the U.S. Telecom Association’s conference (see this second Light Reading story) that VoIP providers to work over the PSTN should contribute to the Universal Service Fund.

Competitors like Ztel have recently dubbed VoIP providers as "the ultimate free riders", claiming they don't contribute to the USF and should be heavily regulated. VoIP providers like Vonage argue they have always paid toward the USF, going so far to itemize the "regulatory fee" on recent customer bills to fend off critics.

The states, eager to tap into a potential tax base and worried about the reliability of E-911 services, have likewise been pushing for regulation. Jeff Pulver (Founder of Free World Dial-up and co-founder of Vonage) indicates in our forums that Oregon is the latest state pushing for regulation of a VoIP provider.

Debates almost continuously rage in our VoIP forum; the latest centering around one user who's trying to battle Vonage's recently added regulatory fee. Powell's awareness that this is a "growing issue" isn't good enough; participants on both sides are looking for action before the VoIP regulatory debate becomes a towering behemoth.