Ever since fifty US states were pre-empted from regulating Vonage by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) back in 2004, the entire Voip industry has been biding its time in the knowledge that at some point the regulations would have to be changed.
All of those in the know are well aware of the ever increasing number of regulations which have been creeping in over the past eight years, and now, without doubt, 2012 looks set to be the most regulation heavy year yet.
Since the introduction of the 'interconnected Voip service' regulations, providers of this service have found themselves hit with an array of FCC regulatory requirements, to the point where today, two-way Voice over IP providers face a nearly identical set of regulations as their analogue based brothers.
When the '21st Century Communications and Video Act' was passed by the US Congress in 2010, it signalled their intentions to codify the contribution duties of non-interconnected as well as interconnected Voip providers.
Originally defined in 2004 by the FCC, the term 'Interconnected Voip Service' has three main parts, namely: 1) it allows for real-time, two-way voice communications, 2) the requirement of customer premises equipment that is internet protocol compatible and 3) requires a broadband connection from the users' location.
In the years since this definition, the FCC has been debating whether it should be updated to allow for changes in technology, such as specifying an 'internet connection' as opposed to a 'broadband connection' and 'connectivity' as the ability to connect calls to U.S. E.164 numbers instead of PSTN.
It is without doubt that the debate over Voice over IP technology is going to carry on for many years to come. And as Voip systems and technologies continue to improve, the remit(s) for how they are defined will continue to be a source for debate and confusion.
But regardless of any problems that may be encountered in the near or distant future, the fact remains that Voice Over IP systems and their associated technologies are not going anywhere. And so, it would seem, the only logical thing to do is jump on the Voip bandwagon and begin taking advantage of cheaper calls, better audio quality and everything else that goes along with it, sooner rather than later.
All of those in the know are well aware of the ever increasing number of regulations which have been creeping in over the past eight years, and now, without doubt, 2012 looks set to be the most regulation heavy year yet.
Since the introduction of the 'interconnected Voip service' regulations, providers of this service have found themselves hit with an array of FCC regulatory requirements, to the point where today, two-way Voice over IP providers face a nearly identical set of regulations as their analogue based brothers.
When the '21st Century Communications and Video Act' was passed by the US Congress in 2010, it signalled their intentions to codify the contribution duties of non-interconnected as well as interconnected Voip providers.
Originally defined in 2004 by the FCC, the term 'Interconnected Voip Service' has three main parts, namely: 1) it allows for real-time, two-way voice communications, 2) the requirement of customer premises equipment that is internet protocol compatible and 3) requires a broadband connection from the users' location.
In the years since this definition, the FCC has been debating whether it should be updated to allow for changes in technology, such as specifying an 'internet connection' as opposed to a 'broadband connection' and 'connectivity' as the ability to connect calls to U.S. E.164 numbers instead of PSTN.
It is without doubt that the debate over Voice over IP technology is going to carry on for many years to come. And as Voip systems and technologies continue to improve, the remit(s) for how they are defined will continue to be a source for debate and confusion.
But regardless of any problems that may be encountered in the near or distant future, the fact remains that Voice Over IP systems and their associated technologies are not going anywhere. And so, it would seem, the only logical thing to do is jump on the Voip bandwagon and begin taking advantage of cheaper calls, better audio quality and everything else that goes along with it, sooner rather than later.
About the Author:
Saul Saresi writes regularly about Voip systems and technology for his website which can be found here video calls previous examples of his research and writing can also be found here business telephone system
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