The FCC Gives VoIP a Big Push

The pendulum that has been swinging back and forth between traditional land lines and VoIP just got a major push to the latter. The National Broadband Plan could be the leading factor if VoIP is going to become the standard in residential phone use.

Studies show that approximately 35% of U.S. households do not have a broadband connection in their homes. The overall objective of the plan is to provide easy and affordable broadband access to everyone in America.

The process started in April 2009 with the Notice of Inquiry that involved the FCC gathering information from the public that provided the framework for the plan. By utilizing social media tools such as blogs and Twitter the FCC was able to gather a wealth of information from the very people it is designing this plan to help.

There are four major points behind the plan that involve competition policies, allocation of government assets, universal service mechanisms reform and changes in law, policies, standards and incentives. It is hoped this will help to bring the United States back to form from a global standpoint in broadband adoption and applications.

One thing for certain is this new act by the government surely has VoIP service providers licking their lips in anticipation. Perhaps the largest hurdle VoIP has to overcome is reaching people who are currently broadband challenged, and this new act is going to help them with that. While it’s not guaranteed, it’s reasonable to assume that cheaper and more accessible broadband for the masses will treat VoIP well.

Patrick Kelly is a writer at Resource Nation.  He writes extensively about  purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs.