Jack Decker wrote:
>> Internet telephony companies Vonage and Nuvio have turned to federal
>> authorities with their complaints that some broadband providers are
>> blocking or degrading their Voice over IP (define) services.
>> Last week, the Edison, N.J.-based Vonage confirmed it had met with the
>> Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the problem, but
>> stressed today it had filed no formal complaint.
> Since VOIP went to great lengths to get unregulated status, I don't
> understand why they would have any standing with a regulatory agency.
> AFAIK, ISPs are not regulated either.
Please explain what they did to obtain non-regulated status. Their infrastructure is most certainly regulated as they use Paetec and Focal switches. What isn't' regulated is the last mile connections that they use.
It is my understanding a business can pick and choose what vendors it
> wants to carry and what customers it wants to serve. A supermarket
> can freely pick and choose what brands it sells; it is not compelled
> to give shelf space to every particular brand or every particular food
> out there. Supermarkets are free to give preference in terms of price
> and product placement of their own house brands, and not even carry
> competitors if they choose.
But if an ISP starts blocking other providers of a service, they're practicing content management. Granted, they can do this so the consumer should vote with their feet and ditch blocking ISP's.
Accordingly, if an ISP wants to sell its own VOIP service, why should
> it be mandated to carry any others? The only factor would be customer > acceptance.
> For VOIPS to go running crying to the FCC is hypocritical. They want
> free market when it suits them, but then regulation when they discover
> some aspects of the free market isn't to their liking.
Many aspects of regulation are an anachronism. IP is IP -- not circuit switched. Once you get over that fact you see that it is a completely different service.