Feds Weigh Role in Net Telephony

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Feds Weigh Role in Net Telephony 
By Michael Grebb
Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64131,00.html
02:00 AM Jul. 08, 2004 PT

As Congress braces for a comprehensive overhaul of the 1996 Telecommunications Act next year, a House subcommittee on Wednesday debated whether it should first warm up its legislative chops on voice-over-IP telephony services.

The hearing of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet highlighted the varied mix of VOIP providers, which include companies that sell only VOIP as well as some cable firms and other traditional telecommunications services.

At issue is whether Congress should pre-empt state regulation of VOIP and, if so, how the federal government can devise safeguards to protect public safety and sustain social goals such as keeping telecom services affordable in rural areas.

VOIP services digitize and break voice telephone calls into packets. Companies ranging from startups to industry giants like AT&T now offer VOIP to customers, who often pay a flat monthly fee no matter how long they talk or how far away they call.