Here's one for the little guy. America's Federal Communication Commission has brought a halt - in one case at least - to the blocking of VoIP calls.
A North Carolina telecommunications company accused of deliberately blocking Internet phone traffic has reached a deal with federal regulators to halt the controversial practice.
The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that Madison River Communication will "refrain from blocking" VoIP, or voice over Internet Protocol, calls and will pay a $15,000 fine to the government. [...] VoIP provider Vonage confirmed that Madison River was the broadband provider it complained to the FCC about earlier this month, leading to the FCC's investigation.
"We're very pleased that the commission took very swift action to address the concerns that we had regarding an Internet service provider's ability to block our customers' communications with each other," Vonage CEO Jeffrey Citron said. "This sends a clear message that port blocking will not be tolerated."
So, Madison River - which has a revenue of nearly $200m a year - trampled over a new technology, a technology which wasn't making them any money (even though it saves customers wads of cash).
If you didn't think telcos were scared stiff by internet voice calling, then surely here's the proof that it's brown trouser time.
