> 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.
They went through widely publicised legal battles with Minnesota and other states to avoid regulation. How could you have missed them?
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.
They've also managed, so far at least, to avoid contributing to USF and other infrastructure funds and taxes that real phones pay.
In this particular case I agree that they made their bed, so they'd better be prepared to sleep in it. I haven't looked in detail at the carrier specific service that Cox and other cablecos provide, but it is my impression that it works and is regulated a lot more like conventional phone service than like Vonage-style parasitic VoIP.
R's,
John