COALITION FORMED IN RESPONSE TO
PHONE COMPANY ATTEMPTS
TO BLOCK INTERNET SERVICES
New York, NY, March 18/PRNewswire/ - The "Voice On the Net" (VON) Coalition (http://www.von.org/) announces its formation in response to recent phone company attempts to regulate Internet services. The VON Coalition is taking action to preserve the worldwide network as a place for emerging technologies and business. Charter VON members include Internet users, technology companies and others intent on keeping the Internet open to all forms of electronic commerce, including voice transmission.
The issue of voice on the Internet has heated up in recent weeks. New technology advances have led to the availability of computer programs that allow people to carry on real-time voice conversations over the Internet. While Internet calls are not of the same high quality as those placed through traditional long distance services, they offer some compelling advantages. For example, using this technology, school children in a rural American community could easily and inexpensively communicate with a scientist in London. Their conversation could include video and drawings along with interactive voice transmission. A growing number of Internet voice products, including VocalTec Inc.'s (NASDAQ: VOCLF) Internet Phone and Quarterdeck's (NASDAQ:QDEK) WebTalk, can be purchased today. Other companies including Intel, Microsoft, and Netscape, have announced their intent to produce similar products.
The Long Distance industry, however, is trying to stop this competition. On March 4, ACTA, a trade association representing 130 of America's long distance companies, filed a petition asking the FCC to block the sale and use of such software products. ACTA is further asking that the FCC step in and begin regulating use of the Internet.
The VON Coalition, along with the majority of Internet users, vehemently opposes such regulation. Public notice of the ACTA petition was issued on March 8, 1996 by the FCC (Report No. 2124). Comments to the petition must be submitted to the FCC by April 8, 1996. The VON Coalition will take a lead role in opposing the ACTA filing.
"ACTA is, in effect, attempting to eliminate outside competition by banning emerging technologies" says VON Coalition Chairman Jeff Pulver. "The immediate mission of the VON Coalition is to persuade the FCC to deny the ACTA petition."
"The ACTA petition asks the FCC to 'define the type of permissible communication which may be effected over the Internet'", says Elon Ganor, Chairman & CEO of VocalTec, Inc. "This is the kind of regulation that the US government and people have traditionaly criticized third world countries for."
"ACTA is asking that the FCC declare specific software companies as 'Telecom Carriers'", Ganor continues. "Microsoft and Netscape recently announced audio and video strategies for the Internet. Does this mean they are now telecom carriers? Where will we draw the line?"
Howard Gordon, President of Xing Technologies, makers of the Streamworks audio and video streaming product, says his organization is strongly opposed to any efforts which limit the ability of content providers to develop alternative
distribution channels.
"While the ACTA filing directly targets 2-way communications, we expect it's only a matter of time before similar efforts are directed against Internet radio and television broadcasting", says Gordon.
According to VON Coalition member Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., Laureate of the prestigious Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education, "The U.S. data communication networks such as ARPANET, Telenet (now SprintNet), and the Internet, have been unregulated since the early 1980s. The fact that these networks were unregulated allowed the use of email to successfully replace more expensive Telex communications."
Charter members of the VON Coalition include: VocalTec, Inc. (NASDAQ: VOCLF), Voxware Inc. , VDONet Corproation, Jabra Corporation, FreeTel Communications, Inc., The DSP Group (NASDAQ: DSPG), Insoft, White Pine Software, Netspeak Corporation, Xing Technology Inc., IDT Corporation, GLOSAS/USA and GU/USA, and Electric Magic Company.
Individuals and corporations interested joining the VON Coalition can visit the VON web site at von.org. Anyone interested in submitting individual comments to the FCC may do so by writing to:
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street
Washington, DC 20554
All responses to the FCC should include a reference to Rulemaking No. 8775. The FCC's website is fcc.gov.
-0- 3/18/96
/CONTACT: Sandy Combs, Director, VON Coalition, 802-878-9884 or <scombs@together.net>/ |
