Geeked About VoIP

I’m a geek, I just can’t help it. Sometimes I see a product so cool I just have to talk about it and since I work solo quite a bit of the time you get to be my outlet.

This is so cool.

Vonage is expected to unveil a new device as early as Wednesday that would allow the user to turn any computer into a phone by attaching a USB memory drive preloaded with voice over IP software.

There is so much promise in VoIP technology to revolutionize communication but the government keeps trying to throw up barriers that I am afraid will slow down or completely stop innovation from moving forward.

The FCC recently announced that all VoIP providers need to comply with CALEA. Nevermind the civil liberty concerns. Nevermind the jurisdiction concerns. Nevermind the ambiguity of what comply means. Trying to forklift the mountain of regulations that currently apply to landline phone service is going to cripple the VoIP promise.

VoIP is cool because it is flexible, mobile, cheap and decentralized. As soon as the government gets their paws on it all of those advantages will disappear.