SBC Looks To Make VoIP More Expensive

from the snuck-in-under-the-radar dept

Everyone seems to be focusing on SBC's announced plans to offer a VoIP service. This isn't particularly surprising. They have been testing the service for a while now, and it's obvious to just about anyone that all of the Bell's will offer VoIP at some point. However, what they apparently hid under the radar was another plan that would charge other VoIP providers an extra tariff to connect to their local phone network. This, obviously, would likely force VoIP providers to increase their own fees to cover SBC's connect charge, though the article also suggests the FCC isn't too happy about SBC's moves. SBC denies that it's a big deal, noting that this extra fee would be part of a service that's "voluntary." Unfortunately, the article doesn't seem to describe why any VoIP provider would want to subscribe to a service that seems to increase their fees. This is simply a reminder that the Bells still control the last mile to the phone, and have the potential to use that to block out competing new technologies. Whether they're allowed to do so is going to be a big battle if the FCC doesn't clear things up very soon.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Brentis, 17 Nov 2004 @ 1:13pm

    the reason why off net provider's would pay for is

    SBC is going to provide fine-grained application control on the other's voip service. They would pay extra to receive higher QoS treatment

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.