[IP] Powell: Don't Rewrite Telecom Act
------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 15:03:15 -0800
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Powell: Don't Rewrite Telecom Act
Powell: Don't Rewrite Telecom Act
By Brad Smith
BOULDER, Colo. -- Outgoing FCC Chairman Michael Powell said today he
thinks the Telecom Act of 1996 is broken but to completely rewrite the
law would be a mistake.
Speaking at a Silicon Flatirons telecom program at the University of
Colorado, Powell said a better course of action would be to write an
IP statute that will take the industry forward. Powell said reopening
the Telecom Act to a total rewrite could take seven or eight years and
would open it up to a wide range of political influences.
He admitted this might leave some companies -- and he specifically
mentioned VoIP provider Vonage -- with an early competitive advantage.
But he said it would also provide a business reason for incumbents to
embrace VoIP.
If an IP statute isn't enacted, Powell suggested it could dampen a
renewed interest in telecom from Wall Street. An IP statute would make
it more attractive for incumbents to get into such things as VoIP
services.
VoIP is only a beginning of what's going to happen with IP networks,
he said; next year, video will be the hot application for IP networks.
"The future [of VoIP] is very bright," Powell said. "But it's
emblematic of something bigger. We need to get past VoIP."
Powell said he disagreed with much of the talk about a telecom triple
play. "It's all data," he said. "VoIP is just the first application."
Wireless Week
<http://www.wirelessweek.com>
Archives at: <http://Wireless.Com/Dewayne-Net> [Note: Requires
registration]
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
------ End of Forwarded Message
-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To manage your subscription, go to
http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip
Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/