VoIP Toolkit

Ringing the changes with VoIP

Ben Charny CNET News.com

Published: 10 Sep 2003 11:45 BST

Net2phone only hosts cable telephone service, not DSL. Why? There are 19 million or so DSL users nationally and even more worldwide. Isn't this practice crippling VoIP growth?
I happen to believe in loyalty. I am making my bed and aligning myself with cable operators. If you're saying to me, "Hey, wouldn't I rather have a universe that includes DSL?" the answer is yes. On the other hand, it really doesn't make sense. Think of the Bells and their business model. It's not quite as compelling for them to offer VoIP. If I looked at it on a purely empirical database, I'd want the whole universe. But there's so much out there, and the rate we need to hit in order to make ourselves profitable is very low.

Could a Bell possibly buy Net2Phone out and start selling VoIP?
If I wanted to be Machiavellian about it, sure. If I were an RBOC, I'd want to own Net2Phone and put it out as way to accelerate the market.

Only 5 percent of your calls, in actuality, avoid the telephone networks. So you're still at the mercy of the Baby Bells and others. How will that affect you?
We're okay. We have CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier, the equivalent to long-distance carrier) status through some of our affiliates. They give us what we need.

Many Bells are using VoIP to do their international calling now. So doesn't that put them in a bit of a corner, demanding regulation of newcomers like yourself yet relying on the same technology?
I'm in the business of VoIP; I not a psychiatrist, and I don't know what's going through the Bells' heads.

There seems to be the beginnings of the regulatory backlash against VoIP. Does that mean the usual honeymoon between new technology and regulators is over?
I'm a great believer in history. When VoIP makes substantial inroads in this business, it will only be a matter of time before RBOCs unleash lawyers and lobbyists. In the meantime, regulatory bodies should maintain what they are doing -- taking a hands-off approach.

When does this honeymoon period end?
There's no formula you can use. Again, we're at the starting line now. I can't say there's a hard-and-fast rule that determines when VoIP is no longer considered nascent.

Who are VoIP's friends in Washington, D.C.?
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is VoIP's friend. So is this administration and the prior administration -- it was during that time that the whole VoIP world was born. They've been very good to our industry. The FCC has been very friendly, because cable telephony brings facilities-based competition. Many international regulatory bodies are also friends of VoIP.