SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series
VoIP (Voice
over Internet Protocol)
FCC
Regulation and VoIP
by Jeff Cohen
For
over 100 years, the FCC has been governing and regulating
telecommunications. From establishing central 911 systems,
to governing what is legal and illegal activity handled upon
telephone wires, the FCC has been setting federal rules and
laws in place and keeping telephony working to the best advantage
for all citizens.
Now,
here comes VoIP to throw the FCC threw a loop. Because
the very nature of VoIP is contradictory to the very nature
of the PSTN (the public switched telephone network that we
have all used and loved) VoIP has managed to slip through
the FCC cracks and appear on the American market
and subsequently in people’s homes, before even being determined
to be a state, local, or federal entity.
Up
to now, state and local laws were handling VoIP issues, but
with the onset of the issue of VoIP users not being able
to access the emergency 911 systems database, the FCC has
stepped up the quest to regulate VoIP and categorize as it
should be- a telephone service.
Well,
whether VoIP is another telephone service and should be treated
and regarded as such is a question of debate, but one thing
is for sure - VoIP has passed the government test
of applications that are here to stay and therefore need
to be regulated.
It
is amazing to me that the FCC hadn’t stepped in earlier to
regulate VoIP, but I guess that is due to the amazing way
VoIP slowly made its way into mainstream homes and began
unplugging telephone wires in homes across the country.
Beginning
on the Internet, it was quite phenomenal that people could
use their Internet service to make long distance phone calls.
Communications is changing the way people relate on a global
level, and it seems that the future may lead to some sort
of global governing body to regulate and monitor it- or maybe
that will be saved for dictator’s and fascist dreams, but
up until now, people have enjoyed the unlimited freedom,
not only in price but in communications that are allowed
by the Internet.
VoIP
has allowed residents of communist countries to express their
opinions, freely, and openly, (some hidden so reigning rulers
won’t find out) but nonetheless, the Internet and VoIP gives
new meaning to the words “global free speech”.
In
America, it seems only fitting that rules and regulations
will beset the future of VoIP, after all, the
telephony industry was under a monopoly for nearly 100
years, how could a new technology come and unplug all of
the hard labor and work designed to set limits upon telecommunications.
Yet
America is a nature of free thinking individuals, and Universities
nationwide are creating telecommunication revolutionists
before laws and rules can even be set. Truly the American
government is playing catch up with a technology that is
leading the way to a telecommunications rebirth.
For
Americans, some of the main issues that need immediate resolution
the FCC involves 911, the ability for law enforcements to
trace and tap Internet Protocol conversations, and the decision
of putting VoIP technology under Federal jurisdiction, rather
than state or local.
Security
issues have arisen regarding wireless VoIP, but
that seems to be more of a matter for the technical guru’s
to solve rather than the federal government. Taxation is
another issue where Uncle Sam has realized that he hasn’t
been making his fair share of the VoIP market, and we can
rest assured lawsuits will continue to arise as telephone
companies battle out the issue “who own VoIP”.
One
thing that is certain is that VoIP is not a technology
that will simply be here today and gone tomorrow. The
issues regarding VoIP are not limited to America alone,
but are closely interwoven threads connecting global Internet
users.
Like
the file and peer to peer networks had a jumpstart birth,
accelerated in growth, then reached maturity before being
regulated by its parents (government systems), we can be
sure that the future of VoIP will have an interesting history.
Peer to peer networks are a global sharing system and decisions
need to be made on a global scale, yet until then we will
continue to see law suits set by those who see themselves
as “owning” all music and likewise, we will see law suits
arise by those who feel that they own all telecommunication
and telephone services.
# # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
> Home > VoIP
Tutorials: Main Page |
