If this wasn't so serious for the industry it would be laughable. Latest news is in the article below...brief synopsis AND link.
Whatever shakes out eventually will impact your personal use of course...but also your business use & your company's "place" in the industry.
Stay tuned.....
Congress Hangs Up on VoIP for 2004
By Roy Mark
Federal legislation to exempt Internet telephony from state
regulations and tariffs has all but failed in the 108th Congress, ending an ambitious effort to carve out and protect Internet-related issues from looming, and highly uncertain, telecom reform.
The idea was simple enough. Because IP-enabled networks are inherently interstate in nature, they should fall solely under the jurisdiction of the federal government and its appointed agent, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). No matter what telecom reform might bring, the distinction in the meanwhile would allow the emerging Voice
over IP (define) technology to compete free of state regulations and tariffs for the next few years.
For good measure, the FCC would be prohibited from delegating any authority to regulate IP traffic to the states, a position supported by the majority of the five-member FCC that is conducting its own VoIP investigation under the constraints of the 1996 Telecommunications
Act.
Full story at:
http://www.internetnews.com/infra/article.php/3403911 God Bless,
Michael Lemm
FreedomFire Communications
http://billzilla.com/mscprez