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Like a broken clock...
Nov. 16th, 2006 08:15 pmLike a broken clock is correct twice a day, so too has the Conservative government done the correct thing.
In case you haven't heard, the CRTC was set to start to "manage" the Voice over IP (VoIP) market. Now, things that are a public utility like the phone system and such should be monitored by the government, but VoIP is not a public utlity. It is not an infrastructure, like the phone, electricity or cable systems are. VoIP replies upon them.
In fact, VoIP is something that is fundamentally different from just about any other form of regulated communication out there. All it takes is a good enough internet connection, and either a computer with some software, or a small router, and you can have a VoIP phone. With the software, and your username & password, any PC that is connected to the Internet can be your phone, anywhere in the world. I've gone to internet cafes in cities I visit, and using VoIP, made phone calls all over Canada and the US.
From the VoIP providers point of view, it is also fairly different. With one regular phone line, a PC running Linux, a voice/modem card, and a copy of a piece of free software called Asterisk, which is basically a full software PBX, and a high speed internet connection, you can run your own VoIP service. You could give people the ability to call anywhere in your local area. With a system in two cities, you can have free calling between them, or from anywhere in the world into them. With a point of presence (aka a POP) in all major cities, you can have free calling across the nation, or around the world. You only cost is the equipment, internet connection, and a telephone line. But this is just the ablity to make long distance calls for free, you don't have any ability to receive phone calls from regular phones, but you can do so from any other VoIP user. But with a bit more investment in infrastructure and equipment, incomming calling is doable.
This scares the tapioca out of phone companies. Much of their bread and butter is long distance charges.
One of the dirty secrets of the telephone field is that long distance calling is cheap in North America. In fact, we have so much capacity for long distance, that there a complete networks that haven't even been turned on, known as "dark fiber", as they use fiber optic cables to transmit the information. A lot of the problem in the telecom field is known as "The last mile". Most of the infrastructure of telecommunication is already extremely up to date. It is the connections between their local building in your area, known as a "Central Office", or CO, and your house. Not only is it aging, but new subdivisions are using basically the same old technology that they were installing 50 years. Part of this is inertia, and part of this is to preserve the existing monopolies.
The Phone and Cable companies want to be the service provider to your house for all your entertainment and communication needs, but a new player has come on to the scene, your local power company. Through the use of Internet Protocol over Electrical lines, they have opened a totally new way to get a connection to your door, across that last mile.
Added to this mix is various wireless systems, either through your cell provider, or via WiFi, such as is available in downtown Toronto, and isolated communities around Canada.
So we have at least 5 different ways you can get internet access, and with the right service provider, you don't need a plain old telephone service (POTS) line anymore. Get a good VoIP provider, and you can have a phone line without the hassle of dealing with your local Telephone company, many of which are very arrogant in dealing with their customers. Some of the best companies, like Vonage, have full infrastructures that allow full incoming and outgoing POTS calls, while others, like Internetcalls.com mainly provide outgoing POTS calling as well as also supports VoIP to VoIP calls.
To me, the only regulation that should be done is in terms of anti-competitive practices by existing internet providers. Although I have only anecdotal evidence, it seems that Rogers/Yahoo Internet is blocking, or throttling the speed of VoIP packets on their service. I've heard of many Vonage customers who are having problems until they change internet service providers...after which, their Vonage service works great again.
ttyl
In case you haven't heard, the CRTC was set to start to "manage" the Voice over IP (VoIP) market. Now, things that are a public utility like the phone system and such should be monitored by the government, but VoIP is not a public utlity. It is not an infrastructure, like the phone, electricity or cable systems are. VoIP replies upon them.
In fact, VoIP is something that is fundamentally different from just about any other form of regulated communication out there. All it takes is a good enough internet connection, and either a computer with some software, or a small router, and you can have a VoIP phone. With the software, and your username & password, any PC that is connected to the Internet can be your phone, anywhere in the world. I've gone to internet cafes in cities I visit, and using VoIP, made phone calls all over Canada and the US.
From the VoIP providers point of view, it is also fairly different. With one regular phone line, a PC running Linux, a voice/modem card, and a copy of a piece of free software called Asterisk, which is basically a full software PBX, and a high speed internet connection, you can run your own VoIP service. You could give people the ability to call anywhere in your local area. With a system in two cities, you can have free calling between them, or from anywhere in the world into them. With a point of presence (aka a POP) in all major cities, you can have free calling across the nation, or around the world. You only cost is the equipment, internet connection, and a telephone line. But this is just the ablity to make long distance calls for free, you don't have any ability to receive phone calls from regular phones, but you can do so from any other VoIP user. But with a bit more investment in infrastructure and equipment, incomming calling is doable.
This scares the tapioca out of phone companies. Much of their bread and butter is long distance charges.
One of the dirty secrets of the telephone field is that long distance calling is cheap in North America. In fact, we have so much capacity for long distance, that there a complete networks that haven't even been turned on, known as "dark fiber", as they use fiber optic cables to transmit the information. A lot of the problem in the telecom field is known as "The last mile". Most of the infrastructure of telecommunication is already extremely up to date. It is the connections between their local building in your area, known as a "Central Office", or CO, and your house. Not only is it aging, but new subdivisions are using basically the same old technology that they were installing 50 years. Part of this is inertia, and part of this is to preserve the existing monopolies.
The Phone and Cable companies want to be the service provider to your house for all your entertainment and communication needs, but a new player has come on to the scene, your local power company. Through the use of Internet Protocol over Electrical lines, they have opened a totally new way to get a connection to your door, across that last mile.
Added to this mix is various wireless systems, either through your cell provider, or via WiFi, such as is available in downtown Toronto, and isolated communities around Canada.
So we have at least 5 different ways you can get internet access, and with the right service provider, you don't need a plain old telephone service (POTS) line anymore. Get a good VoIP provider, and you can have a phone line without the hassle of dealing with your local Telephone company, many of which are very arrogant in dealing with their customers. Some of the best companies, like Vonage, have full infrastructures that allow full incoming and outgoing POTS calls, while others, like Internetcalls.com mainly provide outgoing POTS calling as well as also supports VoIP to VoIP calls.
To me, the only regulation that should be done is in terms of anti-competitive practices by existing internet providers. Although I have only anecdotal evidence, it seems that Rogers/Yahoo Internet is blocking, or throttling the speed of VoIP packets on their service. I've heard of many Vonage customers who are having problems until they change internet service providers...after which, their Vonage service works great again.
ttyl
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