US argues for federal VoIP rules
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&quot;We cannot avoid this question any longer. It is very likely that treatment of VoIP will have some of the farthest reaching consequences of anything this commission
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ASHINGTON - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will require incumbent telephone carriers to continue offering parts of their networks to competitors while the commission rewrites those network-sharing rules.
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A US federal court has ruled that voice calls over the internet (VoIP) cannot be regulated rules applied to conventional phone services.
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US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell is calling for a hands-off regulatory approach to Voice over IP (VoIP) and has vowed to try to take regulatory control
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NOVEMBER 09, 2004 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - A voice-over-IP service from Vonage Holdings Inc. is not subject to the public utility regulations of individual US states, the Federal Communications Commission declared today.
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MANHASSET, NY The Federal Communication Commission&#39;s decision Tuesday (Nov. 9) to classify voice-over-IP (VoIP) as an interstate, federally regulated service could go
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has ruled that incumbent local exchange carriers must connect to VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services, overruling two state public service commission opinions.
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(InfoWorld) - Plans for valuable wireless spectrum being considered by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission may not go far enough to encourage a new broadband competitor, said groups calling for open-access rules for part of the spectrum. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, in an interview with USA Today published Tuesday, said he wants a "truly open broadband network" for the 700MHz spectrum scheduled to be auctioned by early next year. That would mean customers could attach any device to the network and download any application, Martin told the newspaper. Martin's proposal, reportedly to be applied to about a third of the 60MHz of spectrum to be auctioned, is similar to net neutrality rules that several consumer groups and Internet companies have championed for broadband networks. But groups calling for open access to the 700MHz spectrum want more than that. Groups like Public Knowledge, Consumers Union, and Free Press want the FCC to require winners of part of the spectrum to provide wholesale access to any wireless or broadband provider that wants to offer service on that spectrum. Rules that would allow customers to attach any device and download any application are a good first step, but what Martin seems to be proposing is "not open access," said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge. "Our definition of open access includes wholesale. You're not going to get competition in the broadband space unless you have wholesale as well." The FCC is expected to set rules for use of the 700MHz spectrum within weeks, and there's heavy debate in Washington, D.C., over what those rules should look like. Many observers say the 700MHz spectrum, now used by U.S. television stations for over-the-air broadcasts, is the ideal spectrum for long-range wireless broadband services. With no other large auctions of spectrum in sight, Public Knowledge and other members of the Open Internet Coalition say open access rules offer the best chance for U.S. customers to ever see a third broadband service that competes with large cable and telecom providers. But some wireless providers, think tanks, and lawmakers have questioned open access rules. On Monday, 38 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the FCC calling on the agency to reject open access rules. Such rules could hinder public safety communications on the spectrum, said the letter, signed by Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, plus 36 other Republicans and one Democrat. The 700MHz spectrum includes 60MHz to be auctioned to commercial users and another 24MHz set aside for public safety agencies, such as police and fire departments. One proposal before the FCC, from startup Frontline Wireless, would marry 10MHz of commercial spectrum to be auctioned with 12MHz of public safety spectrum for a network that would have both public safety and commercial users. Open access rules would dictate how auction winners manage their networks and could reduce the value of the spectrum, the letter said. "We urge you to ensure that the rules the FCC crafts to govern the 700MHz auction do not impose burdensome and unnecessary open access regulations on licensees," the letter said. But members of the Open Internet Coalition said consumers want more freedom than current wireless networks provide. While the wireless industry likes to trumpet competition among carriers, mobile devices are tied to one network, and customers often have to pay huge early termination fees, said Ben Scott, Washington policy director for Free Press, a media reform group.
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The voice-over-IP market is growing, and by next year, 50% of all lines installed in the U.S. are expected to rely on VoIP technology -- despite continuing concerns that installations can be costly.
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InfoWorld - Two members of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission called for the federal government to create a wide-ranging national broadband strategy to help small businesses compete on a global level.
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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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(InfoWorld) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)Â should resist calls to impose net neutrality regulations on broadband providers because such rules could hurt the Internet, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)Â said Thursday. The DOJ, in a brief filed with the FCC, said net neutrality rules could "inefficiently skew investment, delay innovation, and diminish consumer welfare." Rules that would prohibit broadband providers from giving priority to their own Internet traffic and prohibit them from blocking or slowing competitors' traffic could also prevent providers from charging fees for priority service, the DOJ said. This could, in turn, cause fees to increase to all broadband users, the DOJ said. "Free market competition, unfettered by unnecessary governmental regulatory restraints, is the best way to foster innovation and development of the Internet," the DOJ said. Net neutrality rules could also discourage broadband providers from investing in new, high-speed services and keep providers from managing their networks efficiently, the DOJ said. The DOJ's comments were in response toÂ an FCC inquiry, launched in March, about whether there's a need for net neutrality regulations. Individuals and organizations have filed more than 27,800 comments in the net-neutrality inquiry, many of them from people who want the FCC to impose net-neutrality rules. Some Internet-based companies and consumer groups have argued that net-neutrality rules are needed after the FCC and U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 did away with regulations that required incumbent broadband providers to share their networks with competing providers. Several telecom executives have complained that Internet companies are not adequately paying network owners for using their pipes. Public Knowledge, a consumer-rights group and net-neutrality advocate, said the DOJ doesn't seem to recognize that most U.S. consumers have few choices for broadband providers. "It is at odds with reality for a Justice Department that approved the largest telecommunications merger in history with a mere press release to now claim that market forces and antitrust enforcement will be able to protect the free and open Internet," Gigi Sohn, Public Knowledge's president, said. "A more vigorous antitrust analysis would have recognized there is a market failure and would have resulted in conditions on the AT&T takeover of BellSouth that would have benefited consumers and Internet companies." The DOJ has failed to recognize that net neutrality would protect consumers and Internet companies from discrimination, she added. "Perhaps the DOJ does not recall that there is very little in the way of market forces to protect consumers," Sohn said. The DOJ, however, said there's little evidence of the need for net-neutrality rules, with only a "few isolated examples" of broadband providers blocking Web content from competitors. "Proponents of 'net neutrality' regulation have failed to show that a sufficient case exists for imposing the sorts of broad marketplace restrictions that have been proposed," the DOJ filing said. In recent years, the DOJ has proposed its own regulations for the Internet. In mid-2006, the DOJ floated a proposal that would require ISPs to retain the Web histories of their users for two years as a way to aid law enforcement investigations. That proposal met resistance from ISPs.
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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 top telecommunications agency in the U.K. has proposed rules that would enable airline passengers to use their cell phones.
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WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators working on rules to secure the calling records and other private information of telephone customers are running into resistance from phone companies and law enforcement agencies.
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U.S. President George Bush called on Congress Monday night to broaden&#160;protection for telecommunications carriers&#160;that helped the government monitor phone calls and e-mail.The Protect America Act, which allows the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to intercept phone calls and e-mails of suspected terrorists without first obtaining a court warrant, is due to expire Friday and Bush called for its extension as part of his final State of the Union address.&quot;To protect America, we need to know who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they are planning,&quot; he said in the televised address. &quot;Last year, Congress passed legislation to help us do that. Unfortunately, Congress set the legislation to expire on Feb.1. This means that if you do not act by Friday, our ability to track terrorist threats would be weakened and our citizens will be in greater danger. Congress must ensure the flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted.&quot;Failure to extend the legislation won&#39;t just hit the NSA. The telecommunications carriers that worked with the agency despite the lack of court warrants also face privacy lawsuits and an extension to the legislation would provide them legal protection. Bush touched on that point as well.&quot;Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America. We&#39;ve had ample time for debate. The time to act is now,&quot; said Bush to applause from mostly Republican members of the audience. Vice President Dick Cheney, seated behind Bush, also applauded the call.Cheney and the White House last week pushed Congress to extend the act and provide protection for telecom carriers. AT&amp;T and other carriers are facing lawsuits in San Francisco by civil liberties groups and individuals who allege that the surveillance program is illegal.Earlier Monday, efforts by Republicans to curtail debate in the U.S. Senate and force a vote on an extension to the act failed, and debate is due to resume Tuesday.&#160;
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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.