IPcentral Weblog
  The DACA Blog

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

 
Well done, albeit not done yet
(previous | next)
 

It will probably be some time before the FCC can piece through the myriad issues it must address to set the regulatory framework for voice over the Internet. But the Commission deserves a hearty pat on the back for its work on its Order preempting state regulation of Vonage's "DigitalVoice" service. The Order's thorough and compelling reasoning issues a stiff rebuke to those who wish to regulate Internet voice applications because they "quack" like the "duck" of traditional telephony. Among other things, the Order emphasizes how very different (and superior) the service is, both in terms of how it works and in terms of what it offers consumers.

The FCC also deserves kudos for signaling that it will preclude states from over-regulating similar services where a company provides the service over its own "last mile" broadband network (see para. 46). Throw in a prudent nod to states that the FCC expects to work cooperatively with them to safeguard interests such as public safety (para. 45), and the FCC has provided a constructive roadmap for tackling the remaining regulatory issues pertaining to Internet voice. (The welcome sway held by wiser heads in recent state discussions of Internet voice suggest states may be willing to follow that roadmap, at least for now. Lexis subscription required or see Nov. 16, 2004 edition of Comm Daily.)

So even if the FCC did not go as far as I had hoped last month, it has provided a great deal to be thankful for well before the holidays. With any luck, the appellate courts will be similarly thankful.

posted by Kyle Dixon @ 11:40 AM | The FCC , VoIP

Share |

Link to this Entry | Printer-Friendly

Post a Comment:





 
Blog Main
RSS Feed  
Recent Posts
  EFF-PFF Amicus Brief in Schwarzenegger v. EMA Supreme Court Videogame Violence Case
New OECD Study Finds That Improved IPR Protections Benefit Developing Countries
Hubris, Cowardice, File-sharing, and TechDirt
iPhones, DRM, and Doom-Mongers
"Rogue Archivist" Carl Malamud On How to Fix Gov2.0
Coping with Information Overload: Thoughts on Hamlet's BlackBerry by William Powers
How Many Times Has Michael "Dr. Doom" Copps Forecast an Internet Apocalypse?
Google / Verizon Proposal May Be Important Compromise, But Regulatory Trajectory Concerns Many
Two Schools of Internet Pessimism
GAO: Wireless Prices Plummeting; Public Knowledge: We Must Regulate!
Archives by Month
  September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
  - (see all)
Archives by Topic
  - A La Carte
- Add category
- Advertising & Marketing
- Antitrust & Competition Policy
- Appleplectics
- Books & Book Reviews
- Broadband
- Cable
- Campaign Finance Law
- Capitalism
- Capitol Hill
- China
- Commons
- Communications
- Copyright
- Cutting the Video Cord
- Cyber-Security
- DACA
- Digital Americas
- Digital Europe
- Digital Europe 2006
- Digital TV
- E-commerce
- e-Government & Transparency
- Economics
- Education
- Electricity
- Energy
- Events
- Exaflood
- Free Speech
- Gambling
- General
- Generic Rant
- Global Innovation
- Googlephobia
- Googlephobia
- Human Capital
- Innovation
- Intermediary Deputization & Section 230
- Internet
- Internet Governance
- Internet TV
- Interoperability
- IP
- Local Franchising
- Mass Media
- Media Regulation
- Monetary Policy
- Municipal Ownership
- Net Neutrality
- Neutrality
- Non-PFF Podcasts
- Ongoing Series
- Online Safety & Parental Controls
- Open Source
- PFF
- PFF Podcasts
- Philosophy / Cyber-Libertarianism
- Privacy
- Privacy Solutions
- Regulation
- Search
- Security
- Software
- Space
- Spectrum
- Sports
- State Policy
- Supreme Court
- Taxes
- The FCC
- The FTC
- The News Frontier
- Think Tanks
- Trade
- Trademark
- Universal Service
- Video Games & Virtual Worlds
- VoIP
- What We're Reading
- Wireless
- Wireline
Archives by Author
PFF Blogosphere Archives
We welcome comments by email - look for a link to the author's email address in the byline of each post. Please let us know if we may publish your remarks.
 










The Progress & Freedom Foundation