Tomek
Premium
join:2002-01-30
Brooklyn, NY | Back to Fees
Just wait till your VoIP bill will be enhanced with 20% of taxes and fees.
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Semper Fi |
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OceanaJones
join:2004-10-18
Suffolk, VA | A new tax on the horizon
All these politicians really care about is the ability to collect more and more TAXES and employ more and more deadwood government employees! |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| reply to Tomek
Re: Back to Fees
said by Tomek  :Just wait till your VoIP bill will be enhanced with 20% of taxes and fees. I understand what you are saying, but it will still be cheaper then the equivalent ILEC service. An additional 20% on top of Vonage's $25 service is still cheaper then my similarly featured $35 Verizon service, and that price doesn't even include all the fees/taxes I have to pay. |
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normljoe
Premium
join:2004-08-11
Arlington, TX | reply to OceanaJones
Re: A new tax on the horizon
It has nothing to do with the gov wanting to employ more people. It has everything to do with the large telcos protecting their turf and flexing their ability to buy the best gov possible (for them). |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| Idiot Tax
As I ranted in another forum, this Congressional action is yet another product of the idiots who use products without fully understanding what they are doing going and then whining to the government when said product doesn't work as expected. Most VoIP providers make it very clear their 911 service doesn't work as it would with POTS. If anything, the government should go after those providers who don't make this distinction clear instead of screwing over yet another new technology industry.
Better yet, prosecute the idiots whose willful negligence led to the death/harm of innocent people because said idiots didn't bother to understand VoIP and its problems with 911 service.
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Hey Fast Eddie... you're next! |
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packetscan
Premium
join:2004-10-19
Bridgeport, CT
clubs:
·Optimum Online
| reply to Tomek
Re: Back to Fees
I can't see how proving 911 would cost them much.. unless of course you have sbc and bellsouth trying to stiffel compatition ( assuming they run/manage it). Who really owns this enhanced 911 system?
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Who do you want to pay off today? |
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montee4
Premium
join:2004-02-15
Chicago, IL
2 edits | Reaction to the Press
I beleive that their heart is in the right place here, however this is a reaction to the press, which seems to drive a lot of decisions these days.
It would have been better had they worked with the likes of Jeff Pulver of FWD and others to develop a strategy that makes sense. Not all VoIP users use their account in one place.
I am curious how this will affect the VoIP WiFi handsets that are going to be released. Will it have to route you to the nearest emergency center near your hotspot????
And what about softphones which let you use your account on any PC.
I doubt that anyone who make these decisions even know what a soft phone or WiFi handset is. |
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DrTCP
Yours truly
Premium,ExMod 1999-04
join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX
| Trouble for outbound only & nomadic VOIP services
Congress and FCC is trying to fit some new technology
into a pair of old shoes. While Vonage solution was inadequate and misleading, the outcome came out to be overregulation that prevents different uses that the conventional telephone would provide.
It looks like recent FCC decision will be great trouble for nomadic (mobile) and outbound only VoIP services.
In particular, outbound only calls do not have an associated fixed phone number which is a requirement for 911 service.
Nomadic use could also be impaired because it is next to impossible to ensure that the user is at its registered location or information is updated correctly.
The current decision is more likely the outcome of big telcos getting rid of cheap VoIP competition and hiding their motives behind 911/Public safety FUD vector. |
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reub2000
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Evanston, IL | Re: Trouble for outbound only & nomadic VOIP servi
I think this should be done as an optional certification program. If the carrier wanted to offer 911, they could display a logo on their website. |
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DrTCP
Yours truly
Premium,ExMod 1999-04
join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX
| said by reub2000 :I think this should be done as an optional certification program. If the carrier wanted to offer 911, they could display a logo on their website. FCC ruling mandates anything that looks like a telephony service to offer E911 service. Unless they revise the final ruling this would be definitely be end of outbound only service still given it is outbound only service indicates that user probably has a service (PSTN) that offers 911 connectivity. Outbound only service should be equivalent to calling card or 10-10 dial around services but we will see if that distinction will be made.
This will also the end of SypeOut service since it cannot comply with 911 ruling either. |
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defense
@eas-ubr2.atw-ea
| I'm pretty sure Skype is a U.K. based company and I don't think U.S. laws would apply. Maybe that's what all VOIP providers should do. Just go foreign. Then they wouldn't have to worry about being taxed, regulated, or simply "offed" by the United States government on behalf of the monopolistic telcos. |
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dslwanter
Why would I want DSL? I have FTTH
Premium
join:2002-12-16
Lowellville, OH
·Armstrong Zoom In..
 ·AT&T Midwest
| Of course
Of course they'll try something like this AFTER the trouble happens. How many lives could have been saved? Every phone whether it be cell, landline, or VOIP should be regulated, 911 wise, for safety reasons.
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"and he will raise you up, on eagles wings, there you are the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm, of his hands" |
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defense
@eas-ubr2.atw-ea | Why can't the telcos provide a free dial tone specifically for 911 even after cancellation of landline service. Cell phone providers must provide this for free to current, former, and non-customers alike; why not the telcos? |
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public
join:2002-01-19
Santa Clara, CA | Pointless
No broadband provider is even remotely close to five nine uptime. What is the point of additional emergency service requirements when service can be down for days? |
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jasqid
Fiber In Your Diet?
join:2002-04-02
East Palestine, OH
| 911 is nice but....
You can still call Fire, Police, Ambulance directly.
With all the newer phones today, you can store the numbers and dial directly.
I mean, what's so hard about doing that? We all survived with out 911 before. (Those of us that "made it" over 30  ...) |
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voiplover
Premium
join:2004-05-28
Portsmouth, NH
 ·callwithus
·Axvoice
| reply to Tomek
Re: Back to Fees
Right but it's not a tax or a price increase; it is a 911 recovery charge of ~$260/year per DID (direct inbound dial #) that will fluctuate from State to State and from provider to provider. I thing that a lot of the business is going to end up overseas for Americans that are looking for less expensive voip with US #'s.  While pushing the small Mom and Pop providers out of business. For them, it isn't just the cost of 911, it is the non obtainable coverage that goes along with offering 911 services. These small operations that are needed by many and are just an upgrade from a calling card are being wiped out. If their gross profit is under a couple of mil, how can they stand up to a couple of multimillion $ suits just because the internet was down when a subscriber need to call 911? Would you insure them? |
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dslwanter
Why would I want DSL? I have FTTH
Premium
join:2002-12-16
Lowellville, OH
·Armstrong Zoom In..
·AT&T Midwest
2 edits | reply to defense
Re: Of course
said by defense:
Why can't the telcos provide a free dial tone specifically for 911 even after cancellation of landline service. Cell phone providers must provide this for free to current, former, and non-customers alike; why not the telcos?
Where did you hear that crock of crap? I have never heard anything like that about Cell Phones. You sound like the kid that came in the ameritech forum telling us his buddy gets 24 mb/s.
911 should be quick and easy just like it is regulated to be with a landline regardless if you're using landline, VOIP, or a cell phone.
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"and he will raise you up, on eagles wings, there you are the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm, of his hands" |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| reply to packetscan
Re: Back to Fees
There are significant costs involved because currently some VoIP providers have the barest minimum of connections in a metro area, and in some states this requirement would mean that they would have to connect to every PSAP--literally hundreds of new trunks.
In those states that use 9-1-1 "routers" (which actually are circuit based switches performing a tandem switching function) the connections may be fewer, but your "ownership" question moves to the front burner.
In many cases, those 9-1-1 fees go in large part for paying the ILECs for rental of facilities at pretty steep rates.
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA | reply to normljoe
Re: A new tax on the horizon
...and having the government buy the most expensive 9-1-1 solution (from them)....
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| reply to pnh102
Re: Idiot Tax
Actually, I think this Congressional action is the result of a bunch of publicity hungry politicians watching an issue get news coverage and then jumping on it.
If the big story of the weekend had been trampoline safety, you'd have seen Hillary and company wanting to regulate trampolines, instead.
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
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