Hello,
I was reading some of the FCC regulations on Vonage, where DigitalVoice were exempted from traditional state public utility regulation and this service cannot be branded as regular telephone service. The FCC has already exempted another company (I guess, Pulver) from state regulations because of the fact that free calls are routed entirely over the Internet and never interconnect with the PSTN. With a broadband connection, the service's members talk with each other computer-to-computer.
As I was browsing through google cache, the older DigitalVoice service could connect PSTN. Now, does that mean people still can connect to regular phone lines from Vonage's DigitalVoice package? Even if their calls traverse PSTN from Vonage's VoIP network, are not they certified as regular Telephone Company and not requiring the telephone licensing?
I went over to the Vonage site, but they don't seem like offering DigitalVoice anymore, did they change their branded package to some newer names? What are the biggest challenges Vonage expect after that Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) order?
TIA
-- Raqueeb Hassan Bangladesh
------------------- FCC News ---------------- November 9, 2004
"Commission Clears Way for Increased Investment In VoIP Services Like Vonages "
Washington, D.C. The Federal Communications Commission declared today that a type of Internet telephony service offered by Vonage Holdings Corp. called DigitalVoice is not subject to traditional state public utility regulation.