California and Minnesota were not taking the Vonage/VoIP ruling lying down. And now the states of New York and Ohio are appealing the Vonage ruling. Just to jog your memory, FCC had ruled that Voange’s VoIP service was interstate in nature and thus free from state-by-state regulations. The courts have also come out on the side of Vonage. However, states are looking to extract their regulatory pound of flesh. California was going to decide today on its future course of action, but has postponed the deliberations for a couple of week. FCC Chairman Michael Powell has been defending the Vonage with a passion that rivals NRA’s “out of my cold dead hands” fervor.
Wouldn’t there be a basis to compare these overly?-aggressive state telecom regulators with the equally greedy SOBs from the Broadbandit days?
Something makes me nervous about revenue dependent states. Doesn’t Schumpter’s notion of “creative destruction” also apply to the sources of revenue for the state?
PS. If the democrats ever want to see the Oval office again, perhaps they should trumpet the injustice of “regressive” and onerous telecom taxes. tic.