From: Michael Poncelet [ponceletm001@hawaii.rr.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 2:54 AM To: voipforum Subject: Materials Submitted to the VoIP Forum Name: Michael Poncelet E-mail: ponceletm001@hawaii.rr.com Organization: Private Citizen Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------ Saving a nasant VoIP structure from the innevitable pressure of a cash-strapped state sponsored innitiative should weigh heavy on all aspects of preemptive regulation. If the objectors of email could have rallied an assault against it with the same vigor which seems to be attacking VoIP then we would not enjoy such commonplace activities of email. One might assume that broadband capable entities will extract fees and negotiate data transmission for their private infrastructures. Media that engulf nationwide structures already recieve taxation by state regulators and it appears that these states wish to increase revenues on the back of an emerging technology. One could argue that any new technology that generates new sources of revenue are automatically characterized as a "value added service" and as such require new forfitures of taxation. The FCC may have to act with the same structure as the World Wide Web Consortium did to propose standards and not act as a heavy handed regulatory body. Yet, with such high profile telecommunications companies competing for market share it is highly probable that the demise of VoIP would be in their best interest. This would be so regardless of the infinite benifits yet to be realized by VoIP and similar emerging technologies. ------------------------------------------------------------