Convergence - regulatory

Making a federal case out of records preservation
Jul. 29, 2008
On April 15, three U.S. representatives introduced H.R. 5811, The Electronic Message Preservation Act. This Act, if passed into law, would bring up to date the parameters of the Federal Records Act and the Presidential ...

Migrating data from one system to another is not for the faint of heart
Jul. 10, 2008
Migrating from one messaging server platform to another is not for the faint of heart, particularly for large organizations that store tens or hundreds of terabytes of messaging data on their servers and support ...

Enterasys package secures VoIP systems
Aug. 20, 2007
Enterasys bundles VoIP security system from switches, software.

AT&T's acquisition concessions benefit consumers
Jan. 08, 2007
As 2006 closed, so too did the long-anticipated AT&T acquisition of BellSouth. We should note that we have previously supported this acquisition and don't consider it anticompetitive.

News grab bag: FMC, free Wi-Fi, Google Phone and our perspectives
Sep. 12, 2007
Today, we'd like to highlight a few announcements and developments in the news that affect convergence. The first report comes from the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) which estimates that ...

Cisco admits iPhone license violation
Jan. 22, 2007
Cisco plans to resolve a single license compliance issue regarding the use of Linux in one of its iPhones, the company wrote in a blog posting, but a researcher contends that Cisco has more work to do.

FCC backs off E911 requirement for VoIP providers
Nov. 08, 2005
The FCC has backed off its earlier requirement that Internet telephony providers must cut off existing customers if they do not have enhanced 911 emergency dialing service.

Senator crafts revamp of 1996 telecom law
Jul. 28, 2005
A U.S. senator this week introduced legislation that some say is a first step in reworking the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Some VoIP providers missed FCC 911 'deadline'
Dec. 06, 2005
Despite a Nov. 28 deadline, more than 30 VoIP providers have not met U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements to offer an emergency dialing service called enhanced 911.

FCC lets VoIP providers slide on 911 - again
Nov. 29, 2005
Another deadline has come and gone with the FCC taking no action against VoIP service providers that fail to provide 911 emergency calling to their customers.

VoIP future hangs on regulatory decisions
Oct. 18, 2004
Voice over IP will be boosted or stifled based on the regulatory decisions made over the next three years, according to experts addressing the Fall VON 2004 show in Boston.

FCC rejects AT&T VoIP petition
Apr. 22, 2004
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rejected a petition from AT&T that would have allowed the company to avoid paying its telecommunications competitors access charges on telephone calls partly carried on IP ...

Bill would exempt most VoIP from regulation
Apr. 02, 2004
Most voice-over-IP (VoIP) services would be exempt from state taxes and regulations and be treated by the U.S. government as a lightly regulated information service under legislation that Sen. John Sununu plans to ...

Senator, others call for VoIP regulation
Feb. 24, 2004
A U.S. senator, a state public utilities commission and a telephone company executive have asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress to slow down their rush toward declaring voice over Internet ...

FCC takes first step toward VoIP policy
Feb. 13, 2004
The FCC took the first step Thursday toward laying down rules governing voice-over-IP (VoIP) service by approving a proceeding that will solicit comments on how the emerging competitor to traditional voice services ...

'Net neutrality stuck in neutral while triple-play gets going
Oct. 09, 2006
In a newsletter last May, we predicted that the issue of regulating 'Net Neutrality would likely be given an "up or down vote" by Congress and the Senate. We're unhappy to report that both 'Net neutrality legislation ...

Where does your phone tax go?
Jul. 19, 2006
Today, we'll continue where we left off in the debate about using a 7% VoIP tax to provide income into the Universal Services Fund. According to a BellSouth spokesperson, USF funds are not directly distributed to end- ...

VoIP tax is a sign of bad government, says reader
Jul. 17, 2006
Last month, we alerted you to the FCC's rule mandating that VoIP providers, such as Vonage, must pay a 7% Universal Services Fund charge, adding to the ways VoIP is beginning to look more like traditional phone services ...

Innocent users could get tangled up in lawful VoIP wiretapping efforts
Jul. 12, 2006
Following our recent newsletter on regulations requiring VoIP service providers to supply "lawful intercept" of voice traffic to authorities, we received some reader comments we'd like to share today.

FCC slaps VoIP providers with universal access tax
Jun. 28, 2006
In our last newsletter, we discussed the FCC ruling that requires VoIP providers to offer "lawful intercept" (or CALEA compliance) of phone calls and associated data by May 2007. Looks like the FCC didn't stop with ...

Does the wiretapping law stretch to Skype?
Jun. 26, 2006
Last month, the FCC appeared to settle the ongoing argument about the need for VoIP services to include "lawful intercept" capabilities supporting law enforcement. The FCC is responsible for enforcing the Communications ...

Former networking execs indicted for securities fraud
Mar. 27, 2006
Two former executives at networking equipment provider Clarent have been indicted on securities fraud charges, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

Where's Walt Disney when you need him?
Oct. 24, 2005
We have a government busy moving pieces around the telecommunications game board. Where are our national plans for an EPCOT 2014, our New Songdo City? I guess they're on the shelf, next to our national alternative ...

Internet wiretapping: More questions than answers
Oct. 10, 2005
You should expect that a large pod of lawyers will spend lots of clients' money (including your tax dollars) arguing the details of FCC's decision and the authority of the commission to decide what it did in the light ...

FCC requires VoIP providers to offer E911
May. 19, 2005
VoIP carriers that connect to the U.S. public telephone network will be required this year to provide their customers with enhanced 911 emergency calling service, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ruled ...