January 14, 2004 Liu Xin) fangVoIP, VoiceoverIP, commonly known as Internet telephony, is called a new revolution that subverts the American telephone industry.

With the popularity of broadband services, VoIP is recognized by more and more users.

At the end of 2003, VoIP was finally listed as a formal service item by several major operators in the United States and launched for users. Does this herald the beginning of a new revolution?

The road to VoIP is in the ascendant. The American Jupiter analysis company predicts that Internet telephony is transforming from a high-tech favored by IT professionals into something within the reach of ordinary users.

From 2003 to 2007, the number of households with Internet access and phone calls in the United States is expected to surge from 100,000 to 4 million.

This strong development trend is inseparable from the loose policy of the United States.

From the very beginning, the United States has classified Internet telephony as a value-added service, and U.S. courts have defined Internet telephony as an unregulated area, allowing service providers to avoid paying local telephone companies when providing long-distance Internet telephony services.

There is an access fee of about 40% of the long distance call fee.

Loose policies and huge market potential have attracted many traditional and new telecommunications companies to join the VoIP research, development and management team.

As VoIP public services continue to become more popular, traditional ISP service providers have differentiated into some network operating companies that specialize in international IP telephony. These companies build their own networks, are equipped with gateways and centralized management facilities, and have end-to-end management capabilities.

It can provide a variety of special services, called ITSP (telephone ISP), such as the American ITXC company, which realizes voice intercommunication through its network dedicated to connecting Internet telephony to various communication companies.

Under such conditions, the natural choice for traditional telecom operators is to cooperate with ITSPs. As a backbone Internet access provider in the United States, Sprint is actively investing in the construction of next-generation networks to provide more users with Internet services and affordable prices.

VoIP business.

Long-distance phone giant AT&T has also felt pressure from all parties. By establishing a global clearing center and signing a contract with Net2phone, it has expanded its network to other ISPs and transferred international calls from leased lines to the GlobalServices network.

On December 11, 2003, AT&T finally made the final decision and announced the launch of Internet phone service, and planned to have one million users in the next two years.

In addition to launching Internet telephony service first in three East Coast markets, AT&T will also expand VoIP to some existing business customer services.

Not to be outdone, Quest Communications International also began to implement Internet phone services among its broadband users on December 8, 2003. In addition, cable TV service providers also came to take a share of the pie with their powerful cable TV networks. Cable giant Time Warner said

Agreements have been reached with Sprint Communications and MCI to expand VoIP services.

It seems that a new round of VoIP business war is ready to start, and competition is also the best way to make the industry vitality.

The road to VoIP is complicated and confusing. Although various companies are scrambling to be the first to lag behind the market, a decisive question remains unresolved.

Whether or not this debate reaches a satisfactory conclusion, it is still too early for Internet telephony to become a true revolution in the United States and replace traditional copper phone lines.

Telephone companies believe that the new technology used in Internet telephony is to package voice data and transmit it through the Internet like e-mail, so Internet telephony should also enjoy the same freedom as e-mail.

Opponents raised a series of issues in policy management such as the "Universal Service Fund" to rebut.

In this regard, state governments in the United States have different decisions.

As the FCC, as an authoritative organization, refuses to take a position on this issue in the short term, the future of Internet telephony is still unclear.

In fact, if Internet telephony achieves true freedom, all kinds of thorny problems will inevitably follow.

1.

The E911 problem must be solved. After the “911” catastrophic incident, the United States strengthened its E911 wireless emergency communications strategy.

In the United States, E911 is provided by traditional telephone operators as a public service, rather than bundled with commercial contracts.

In fact, this creates some instability for users to choose a call mode.

Of course, as VoIP services continue to expand, existing regulations will not remain static.

2.

The concept of public information transportation encounters challenges. The concept of public information transportation that provides services to the majority of people no longer points to strictly regulated traditional telephone operators, but is increasingly shared by emerging Internet telephone service providers.

However, it is not only market share that needs to be shared, but also industry responsibility. The complex connotations deserve careful consideration by all parties.

3.

"Universal Service Fund" is cannibalized If the FCC chooses not to charge regulatory fees for Internet telephony, the future of the "Universal Service Fund" is worrying.