Powell: Don't Rewrite Telecom Act

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

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From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 15:03:15 -0800
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
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
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