From: mccoy@communities.com (Jim McCoy)
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 18:00:26 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Jump Start ecash With IPhone
Message-ID: <v02140b01ad63b7000129@[199.2.22.124]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Duncan Frissell writes:
>At 11:37 AM 3/6/96 -0800, Jim McCoy wrote:
>>        2- The phone companies (actually ACTA, the telco lobby) petitioned
>>           the FCC on Monday to regulate the Internet phone software
>>           companies.
>>
>>IP phone systems themselves may need to move underground just to
>>escape regulation.  OTOH, there is nothing to prevent people from
>>building their own systems once some free software is out there...
>
>That would be a super neat trick since the LD business is currently
>deregulated (and in fact was never a government monopoly) and the local loop
>is in the process of deregulation, and Vocaltec is in some senses an Israeli
>company anyway and need not have a presence in New Jersey if it doesn't
>want do.
>

The regulation in question was regarding things like local/state/federal
telecom taxes and levies, and all of the BS hoops that LD carriers must
jump through.  Regarding where such companies are located, I am also at
a loss as to how this recent action will be enforced; that does not
necessarily mean that a bureaucrat somewhere will not try to do something
stupid.

Just because LD is "deregulated" does not mean that it is without any
governmental oversight, much as I wish it were...  LD companies still
have to pay certain taxes (take a look at your next phone bill, they are
clearly listed in addition to your actual phone charges) and I am certain
that they have entire office buildings stuffed with drones filling out
paperwork for Uncle Sam...

jim