Hold Me, Papa FCC
The FCC is out of control. They have a raging hard-on for the Internet, and are doing everything they can to gain regulatory control over it. Now, 31,000 customers who receive VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) service are getting cut off. See, the FCC thinks people are stupid and that people don’t know that when the power goes off, your internet goes off, or that sometimes… for random reasons… the internet cuts out. If you’ve been using the internet for more than a day, I think it’s bleeding obvious that the thing isn’t exactly 100% reliable. 404 Error, Page not found. “Could not connect to server.” “You have been disconnected.” Par for course, right? Well, the FCC has decided that unless you explicitly state that you are aware that the internet can sometimes be suddenly disconnected and that your VoIP service might not work all the time, they are going to shut your service off.
Thousands of VoIP users are set to be disconnected Monday under a recent FCC ruling regarding provisioning of enhanced 911 service on VoIP lines.
Under the FCC ruling, interconnected VoIP providers, that is those who provide connections to the public switched telephone network, allowing them to have normal telephone numbers, were required to notify all of their users about the availability of enhanced 911 service, and that the service may be unavailable during a power failure or loss of Internet connectivity.
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[T]he ruling requires that subscribers respond back, affirming that they understand the limitations of 911 on VoIP. Anyone who has not responded as of August 29 is to have their service disconnected until such time as they do respond.
phone.ioerror.us: Many VoIP users to be disconnected August 29
So basically, the FCC is worried that you are unaware of VoIP’s instability, and as punishment, they’re cutting off your service. Fantastic.
Now this is pretty simple. You go to your carrier’s web site, you sign in, you fill out the E911 form, and you’re done. Go do it this weekend if you haven’t already.
phone.ioerror.us: Many VoIP users to be disconnected August 29
I say you go one step further. Yeah, sign the stupid form and get your service turned back on, but also write a letter to your Congressman telling him or her that you already have a daddy, and you don’t need the FCC to play his part.
The FCC is rapidly turning into the biggest piece of self-perpetuating governmental bureaucratic bloat around. They’re also becoming increasingly dangerous to your privacy. The delicious goodness of wiretaps, coming soon in internet form!
