Powell calls for regulatory rein on VoIP
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The US Federal Communications Commission must assert its regulatory authority over voice over IP as a matter of priority, FCC chairman Michael Powell said in an address at the VON Fall 2004 conference and exposition.
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Policy analyst Randolph J. May says the FCC needs to revise set-top equipment rules, or costs to consumers will be great.
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Senate Democrats urged the head of the Federal Communications Commission today to take a more challenging approach to the industries he oversees.
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FCC Chairman Michael Powell said Tuesday that he would seek broad regulatory authority for the federal government over Internet-based telephone services to avoid stifling the emerging market.
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Agency seeks public comment as first step in deciding how far Internet service providers can go before they transcend "reasonable network management" and run afoul of federal policy.
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(InfoWorld) - U.S. government agencies are interested in unified communications systems that integrate voice, video, and data over IP, but they have concerns about funding and security, according to a survey released Monday. Twenty-eight percent of U.S. telecom decision-makers surveyed in April said funding was their greatest challenge to achieving their communications goals. Another 20 percent said security was the top concern, and 17 percent said educating co-workers about the benefits was the biggest challenge. "We're talking to the boots-on-the-ground program managers, IT directors who are really charged and tasked with getting some of this stuff done," said Aaron Heffron, vice president of Market Connections, which conducted the survey for Cisco Systems. "They said, 'There's a lot of ... concern over security in my agency'." A unified communications system could include such servicesÂ as VoIP, instant messaging, remote access to agency files, and mobile data or voice devices, all managed together. There are heavy demands for unified communications in federal agencies, especially in the military, said Brent Byrnes, federal unified communications manager for Cisco. The U.S. military has "increasing needs to rapidly stand up services" in combat zones, he said. Asked of the benefits of a unified communications approach, 93 percent of respondents said better security would be a result of integrating IT and telecom systems. Ninety-three percent also believed system reliability would improve, and 91 percent said productivity and collaboration would improve. There seems to be a difference of opinion about a unified approach's effect on security between top-level managers in agencies and the IT and telecom managers, Heffron said. "Those individuals know that bringing these two systems together can improve their security and reliability," he said. "However, they're swimming upstream in some cases with other agency management." Another 88 percent said a unified communications system would allow agencies to improve their plans to continue to operate during a disaster, a major focus of the U.S. government since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. But only 44 percent of respondents said their agencies have the ability to notify employees in real time. Twenty-eight percent said their agencies have no plans to use real-time notification. Four in five respondents said their agencies already use audio conferencing and mobile devices. Three-quarters said their agencies allow remote or mobile access to agency files, and 71 percent have wireless networking access. Only 50 percent said their agencies use instant messaging, and 26 percent said they have no plans to use it. The survey also found that 35 percent of respondents said they had projects delayed or deadlines missed at least sometimes because of communication difficulties. Only 11 percent said they never have experienced delays. But only 38 percent of respondents said they are rolling out or have rolled out a unified communications system. Another 13 percent said they have either conducted pilot tests or identified a vendor, while 23 percent are investigating it, and 21 percent have done nothing more than talked about unified communications. Finally, 84 percent of respondents said communications devices have been a "blessing" in daily life. Eleven percent said such devices are a "curse." The survey solicited comments from 201 U.S. government telecom decision-makers.
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VoIP has escaped regulation by individual states in the US after a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC decided that Vonage Holdings&#39; DigitalVoice service could not be governed by dual
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A U.S. communications regulator  sought a probe on Thursday into whether commentator Armstrong  Williams broke the law by promoting the Bush administration's  education plan on television and radio without properly  disclosing compensation his firm received.
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Meta Group senior analyst David Willis said that he doesn&#39;t expect the Baby Bells to bow down just yet. &quot;I don&#39;t think VoIP is going to remain entirely unregulated over the next several years,&quot; Willis said.
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The US needs to rethink its regulation of companies, a group with links to Treasury  Secretary Henry Paulson says.
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US regulators ruled Tuesday that providers of Internet-based telephone call services fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government and cannot be regulated by states.
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Major mobile voice and data carriers in the U.S. have pledged to open their networks to outside handsets and applications, but regulators and customers need to be vigilant to make sure those promises are fulfilled, one member of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said.
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NEW YORK  - Are cellphone companies using their sway over handset makers to unfairly limit consumers&#39; choices? Skype, a pioneer in PC-to-PC calling, thinks so, and it wants the Federal Communications Commission to do something about it.  In a blistering filing with the FCC, Skype basically accused Verizon Wireless and other big carriers of holding their customers hostage because most cellphones sold in the USA are &quot;locked,&quot; meaning you can only use applications and features sold by your carrier.
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AMERICA&#39;s chief communications regulator will seek broad regulatory authority for the US federal government over internet-based telephone services to avoid stifling the emerging market.
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NEW YORK - The worst fears of the NFL&#39;s network partners were realized when FCC boss Michael Powell said he is sticking his beak into this Terrell Owens/Nicollette Sheridan &quot;Monday Night Football&quot; controversy.
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The Federal Communications Commission said yesterday that the federal government, not states, has the authority to regulate phone service provided over the Internet.
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September 28, 2004 -- Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, plans to hold a vote this year on a proposal to require US television broadcasters such as Viacom Inc.