Government Regulations On VoIP
As would be expected judging by the growing popularity of the VoIP technology, the state has started to see to it that it fits a legal framework. New rules and regulations are being issued, which is a confirmation of the fact that VoIP is expected to keep surging in the near future.
First, a brief description of VoIP. Unlike traditional telephony, which relies on establishing an electrical circuit between two telephones (a rudimentary example of that would be the first telephones, which only operated in pairs, or the first switchboards which allowed communication between two phones through the mediation of an operator who would manually connect the two users), VoIP uses a technology known as packet switching. Voice is encoded, with the help of codecs, into data packets that are transmitted across the Internet (VoIP actually stands for Voice over Internet Protocol). In other words, it is rather the domain of computers than that of PSTN (public switched telephone network).
The first obvious conclusion arising from this description is that, in order to use VoIP, you need an Internet connection. Dial-up is not good enough, as you will soon discover that VoIP is actually a lot more than voice. It integrates many other features such as video and data, so you’ll need a high speed Internet connection to enjoy the full advantages of this technology.
Even though you do require an Internet subscription in addition to your VoIP monthly fee, you will still spend significantly less money, as calls are quite inexpensive compared with PSTN. On the one hand, this lower cost is due to the more efficient use of the bandwidth. On the other hand, since it is a completely different system than conventional telephony, VoIP is not subject to the same rules and regulations that govern the operation of PSTN. Some of the traditional telephony costs are due to the taxes that need to be paid – which do not apply to VoIP. But is this favourable situation going to last?
VoIP cannot remain unaddressed by the legal system. Forecasts show that most companies will have resorted to Internet telephony for handling their telecommunications by the year 2008, and anything of that magnitude needs regulation. The question is, will the new laws make it possible for VoIP to stay as attractive as it is today?
There are two major issues that the FCC is currently concern with – actually, both of them connected with the traceability of calls originating from a VoIP network.
The first area of concern is abbreviated as CALEA – Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement. An example would be the right of such institutions as the FBI to tap and trace VoIP conversations. While this is an old issue as far as landline telephony is concerned, it might be more complex in the case of VoIP. We are not referring to the technical issues connected with the tracing of calls, but to the possible effect such regulations might have on other forms of communications. For example, instant messaging is normally not traceable without the consent of the ISP, as such data exchanges usually do not include the IP addresses of the two computers, which makes it quite difficult to eavesdrop.
Going back to the technical issues, there is one problem that has been arousing much concern. It refers to the incompatibility between the 911 call-tracing system and the VoIP technology. Since VoIP is quite different from PSTN, it should not come as a surprise that there are serious difficulties in establishing the location of a person calling via the Internet. The result of the tracking process is often too approximate and unreliable. Consequently, the FCC has required that VoIP customers should be made aware of this. When you subscribe for the service, you will be asked to sign a waiver confirming that you are aware of the fact that your VoIP connection is not compatible with 911 and that even the newly implemented Enhanced 911 system still has a long way to go before it can be considered reliable.
It is not clear what the results of these regulations will be. Some say that the laws regarding this domain are needed, others complain that the regulations do not take into account the differences between PSTN and VoIP. We’ll have to wait and see what the future brings.
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