SMS Campaign Registry – Consumer Protection or Money Grab?
SMS Campaign Registry – Consumer Protection or Money Grab? SMS remains one of the most effective tools for marketing. However, with the spreading of mobile phones, users receive loads of SMS spam. The mobile U.S. operators’ recent attempt at SMS regulation tries to change this. The name to it is “the (SMS) Campaign Registry“. Since … Read more
Is Faking a Caller-ID a Major Faux Pas?
Fake Caller-ID is a longtime favorite technique used by marketing companies. This technique involves using automatic dialers, also known and robocalls, to target and call consumers. It’s pretty common knowledge that this type of marketing isn’t very effective and is, in fact, quite annoying from the consumer’s perspective. That changes when the FCC decided in … Read more
STAYING COMPLIANT WITH KARI’S LAW AND BAUM’S ACT
The deadline rollout for compliance with Kari’s Law and BAUM’s Act has arrived. Companies and organizations of all industries sizes are now on the hook for massive fines associated with non-compliance with these measures. Follow this guide to learn more about staying compliant with Kari’s Law and Baum’s Act. Understanding Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’s … Read more
How to Switch to a New Business Voice Provider
We will likely have to switch from our present voice provider to a new one at one point or the other in our business lives. There are a variety of reasons why this change happens. The reasons range from increased business benefits to cost savings. The process of switching tends to be a very in-depth … Read more
Chicago Residents Get Stars, Stripes and Taxes for Independence Day
Chicago’s 9% “Cloud Tax” became effective July 1 for all city of Chicago consumers, including businesses If you’re like most people, you probably look forward to the July 4th holiday to celebrate and reconnect with family, friends, and close business associates. Maybe you had planned on enjoying the holiday with a streaming movie service. Maybe … Read more
The VoIP Market’s Gotten a Lot Tougher for the Little Guy (Pt 2)
In many ways, VoIP regulations and taxes favor larger corporations, in both financial and structural ways. The Price Competition Factor- Who Pays the Bill? As VoIP services find themselves increasingly taxed at the State and Federal level, there’s a big question of who, exactly, will pay for these taxes, and how these tax increases will … Read more
The VoIP Market’s Gotten a Lot Tougher for the Little Guy (Pt 1)
The government has never really known what to do with VoIP. On the one hand, VoIP is a telephony service, and as such some people argue it should be regulated and taxed in the same vein as other telephony services (such as traditional PTSN networks). On the other hand, VoIP is an online service, a … Read more
Is non-Interconnected VoIP a de-facto “Communications Technology”?
Non-interconnected VoIP effectively received its communications classification with the 21st Century Communications and Vide Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA), which had a lot to say about what it called “non-interconnected VoIP service.” This is a broad-ranging classification that applies to pretty much any technology which involves “real-time voice communication” via IP (that hasn’t already been identified as an interconnected VoIP service). The FCC’s rulings within this act seem fairly limited as they pretty much only define strictures for service registration with and contribution to the TRS, but the simple fact this act labels non-interconnected VoIP as a “communications service.”
Is Regulatory Creep Inevitable for VoIP?
It’s clear that some level of regulation is necessary for the VoIP industry to ensure a certain standard for service quality. But excess regulation may lead to an unfortunate circumstance where the technology isn’t allowed to advance in any noticeable way and where the existing telecom giants retain all their incumbent power.
Just How Big Will VoIP Market Grow? (Part 2)
As the Point Topic report states very briefly towards the end of its document:
“If you work hard and manage to marry your internet telephony service with a major mobile device manufacturer and solve any number of technical and regulatory issues, the market could really explode.”