I have read a great deal on various mailing lists about the petition to the FCC and have developed a few positions I would like to share. I am doing this as an individual, not as moderator. The issue: several companies and free software offerings allow users to talk to each other in real-time over the Internet. This is often called a kind of long-distance telephone. A coalition of long-distance providers called ACTA have petitioned the FCC to temporarily stop and then to regulate "telephone calls" made in this manner. The rationale stated in the petition is that conventional long-distance carriers have to pay extra fees for interconnection to wide-area telephone networks (fees that go toward the network's creation and maintenance); thus it is not fair for Internet users to forego the fees. Much of the controversy over this petition boils down to "What is a telephone call?" I won't try to untangle the technical details of the discussions on various mailing lists, but will present a broad viewpoint below. Another issue people worry about is what will happen to the Internet once the FCC starts regulating traffic on it. My own positions: 1. Real-time audio transmissions over the Internet are simply one application of Internet technology in one medium. A single application of a single medium should not be treated inconsistently with other applications and media. This would distort the desirable current trend in electronic networking toward multimedia. For instance, many users of real-time audio are integrating it with the transmission of text and graphics in a kind of "computer-supported cooperative work"--great difficulties would be placed in the way of this innovation if real-time audio had to be charged in a different way. 2. Furthermore, to start taxing information services in special ways would set a poor precedent--and one that might be picked up by other countries, slowing the spread of new electronic technologies and applications internationally. (This may not be of interest to the FCC, but it's important in a broader policy sense.) 3. However, there are issues of equity in the emergence of a technology that uses facilities paid for by other companies. In the long run, some body (possibly the FCC) may have to develop a policy that makes companies and their users pay fairly for the infrastructure they use. However, for reasons stated below, the FCC should not make a policy at this time, and may be relieved of having to make any such policy in the future. 4. An estimated 20,000 users currently use real-time audio on the Internet. This is too small a group to make a difference in the way resources are paid for and allocated. Furthermore, the Internet contains limitations that make it unlikely that large numbers of users will use real-time audio in the near future. Reasons include poor sound quality in some cases, a multiplicity of incompatible products, and unreliable protocols that cause delays and interruptions. It is therefore premature to change policy, especially when a change in policy would have the far-reaching impacts discussed in earlier points. 5. New technologies are to be welcomed, and competition should be encouraged. There is a good possibility that telephone conversations could be much cheaper and more efficient if the Internet infrastructure (physical lines and protocols) came to support real-time transmissions to the point that real-time audio became ubiquitous. When that time approaches, the structure of the industry and of pricing may handle real-time audio equitably without further government intervention; if that is not the case, the Congress or various government agencies can make policy. Andy ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~ Posted by Andrew Oram - •••@••.••• - Moderator: CYBER-RIGHTS (CPSR) Cyber-Rights: http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/ ftp://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/Library/ CyberJournal: (WWW or FTP) --> ftp://ftp.iol.ie/users/rkmoore Materials may be reposted in their _entirety_ for non-commercial use. ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~
