VoIP Industry Should Innovate Past Regulation

As the first reviews of the initial salvo in the telecom-legislation reform movement drift in, it's clear that the lobbying power of the Bells and the Cablecos is in control of legacy telecom. That's why the VoIP industry and other future-looking communications players need to craft their own playing field, as soon as possible. It's not a new idea, but it's one that should be advanced more rapidly, especially as "leaders" like FCC chairman Kevin Martin start cementing the cable-telco duopoly in place.

Following on my previous post about Intel, Cisco and Motorola, VoIP players like Vonage should start seriously looking at how they can partner better with emerging wireless access players -- because in the not-too-distant future, it's clear that Vonage users will pay a premium to use the service over cable or RBOC connections.

Jeff Pulver, among others, has often said that the VoIP industry in particular needs to innovate and exploit the possibilities of IP-enabled communications, rather than just provide POTS replacement services. That might have seemed an idealistic call before, but as Sen. Ensign's proposed legislation shows, it may be the only way VoIP upstarts can survive.