Re: Vonage's Citron Says VoIP Blocking Is 'Censorship'

> Yes Pat, but it didn't do it on the basis of the 1st Amendment. As I
>> understand it, the fine was to preserve "Net Freedom" (Powell's term) >> and although I like it, I still don't understand the legal basis for >> this action. It seems to me the Telco's ought to be concerned about >> this because if there is now a "must carry" rule for VoIP traffic, what >> happens when they start to offer TV/video? Will they be forced to allow > In the end, the only reason VoIP is so cheap is that it passes the > costs off to other sectors.

Not exactly.

The difference isn't that VoIP is "passing the cost", but rather, that with VoIP, the customer is providing the connection from their premises to the telco.

Back in my ISP days, the ISP I worked for provided DSL over dry copper pairs. We were selling 2.5Mb/1Mb and later 7Mb/1.5Mb before either the telco or cableco were offering any soft of connectivity.

We gave customers a choice: Either provide your own copper pair from your location to the nearest CO, or pay us more and we'll cover the loop costs (As well as handle the installation and whatnot)

VoIP is similar. You can either pay a telco to bring the service to your door, or you can pay a cheaper rate if you provide the last mile yourself.

VoIP is virtually always more expensive then traditional telco services if you include the cost of the internet connection. However, since I already have an internet connection, I don't include the cost of my internet connection in the cost of VoIP service.

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is what I said yesterday. It is unfair to amortize the entire cost of the connectivity off to VOIP since you have the connection there already. PAT]