California Decides To Regulate Vonage

from the backwards-move dept

And you thought that California was a technically advanced state, and only confused states in the middle of the country would mistake a VoIP service like Vonage for an actual phone company. Not quite. California has now announced that, because it passes the oh-so-scientific "smells like a duck, quacks like a duck" test, VoIP systems like Vonage must apply for telephone operator licenses in the state. This is, of course, backwards thinking - trying to fit today's technology into yesterday's laws just to help cover the state's massive budget deficit. Next thing you know, you won't be able to use things like iChat or Skype without first paying the state of California.
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  1. identicon
    dorpus, 1 Oct 2003 @ 12:33am

    The alternative

    Would it be better for taxpayer money to fund the infrastructure that supports VoIP in the first place, so that private businesses get a free ride?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Mike (profile), 1 Oct 2003 @ 12:42am

    Re: The alternative

    I'm sorry, let me get this straight, you're claiming that current VoIP traffic is paid for by taxpayer money?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    dorpus, 1 Oct 2003 @ 12:46am

    Re: The alternative

    In most countries of the world, yes. It also still happens in the US through indirect means.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Mike (profile), 1 Oct 2003 @ 12:50am

    Re: The alternative

    Funny, last I checked, California was in the US.

    If you're going to post stupid trolls, you could at least try to make them interesting.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    dorpus, 1 Oct 2003 @ 12:52am

    Re: The alternative

    Yes, and phone subsidies are alive and strong in the USA, if you dig deeper. Try checking obscure lobbying groups in Washington DC.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    AMetamorphosis, 1 Oct 2003 @ 7:55am

    Re: The alternative

    Mike,

    I'm fast losing in respect I had for you ...
    Quit " fanning the flames " just because you don't see eye to eye with Dorpus ...

    Who is the intelligent one and who is child ?

    This is turning into slash/twat

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Chronic, 1 Oct 2003 @ 9:45am

    Re: The alternative

    Yeah Mike, stop being an agressive toolbox and try rational argument for a change! Oh, wait, I forgot, since this article doesn't provide you with a platform to air your pro-MP3/filesharing/Kazaa/music stealing rants, you have to resort to name calling and pointless slander!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Wayne, 1 Oct 2003 @ 10:41am

    Consider this

    Vonage allows calls to folks with regular phones, which means they need point-of-presence equipment in IXC's , or at least pay for their use. So yes - they use the existing telecom infrastructure in some form in addition to vonage to vonage calls strictly over net. So they must be considered a phone company.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    anon, 1 Oct 2003 @ 12:45pm

    Re: Consider this

    So its the Old Tax EVERY THING even if some of it does no go over the phone lines.
    I see, your one of the morons who believes the music industry should get paid every time you buy a blank CD even if you are using if for data storage.
    Isn't this one of the reasons we succeed from England. You do remember the Boston tea party dont you?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Wayne, 1 Oct 2003 @ 5:12pm

    Re: Consider this

    Good to see you had something of value to add to the discussion.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2006 @ 12:24pm

    Re: Consider

    Agreed (with Anon@12:45pm)

    Why don't we just allow the Gommnit to tax everything. Here's one: lets tax all sales. Then if I decide to sell my care that I already paid sales tax on and I make more than $10,000 I have to give the g'mint 8.5% of that. And if the guy I sell my car to sells it again, he has to pay the g'mint again, and so on. Oh! In California we already do that. I guess we all just really work the for Government.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2006 @ 7:21pm

    resurrection

    look at the article/comment dates. pulled from death...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. icon
    pixelpusher220 (profile), 6 Sep 2009 @ 11:51am

    Just a nice factoid

    Mike seems to believe Vonage/VOIP shouldn't be regulated like the phone companies....until it affects him:


    http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090904/1449236112.shtm


    oops.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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