[*] CRTC on VoIP

[Ron Dallmeier]

In my opinion it is good only from the perspective that the ILECs cannot
play favourites and charge different rates to the clients that have have a
higher potential to leave.

Frankly, if they want to charge below cost to everyone, that would be good
for the consumer. Considering the barrier to enter the ITSP market is so
very low that the ILECs could never really get rid of competitors to create
a near monopoly and go back to charging high rates.

Besides, I believe we are talking about a service that will eventually cost
nearly zero anyway (once VoIP has the majority of the clients). The primary
costs today are support and gateway to the PSTN. As VoIP grows in
market-share and peering matures, the PSTN gateway costs will approach zero
leaving only support.

I think that if any government body wanted to promote competition, they
should focus their efforts of creating an open peering exchange (ENUM) and
encourage/mandate VoIP providers to use it.

In some ways, I don't mind the current approach. Perhaps they could have
been even more harsh on those providers that deliver calls to the present
day PSTN numbering scheme. I would like to see the adoption of email
addresses as phone numbers, if it wasn't for those pesky keypads. Voice
recognition is where it will be at. Who would want to speak
one-two-zero-four-five-five-five-one-two-three-four when you could say
ron-at-fiber-dot-C-A or have person directories and simply ask for "ron" if
you only know one person by that name.

...Ron