What’s the Hang Up? The Future of VoIP Regulation and Taxation in New Hampshire

Alice in Austria wishes to call her friend Bob in Boston, using a Boston area code to avoid charges for an international call. Using VoIP, Alice may initiate her call from any location in Austria where she may find Internet access. Once Alice connects to the Internet, she can transmit her call with the aid of a VoIP service provider, such as Skype. In order to hear and communicate with Bob, Alice can rely on a microphone and a headset that she can plug into her computer. Through VoIP, not only may Alice carry on a telephone conversation, but most service providers also allow her to record conversations and manage other information, such as voice mail. The rise of Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services “means nothing less than the death of the traditional telephone business,” as the ability to make free calls over a high-speed Internet connection in the future “undermines the existing pricing model for telephony.” This disruptive, convergent technology is blurring the boundary between Internet services and telephone services because VoIP functions like the traditional telephone system, but travels as ones and zeros through a broadband Internet connection. As a result, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has questioned whether to classify VoIP as an information service, generally free from FCC regulation under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, or as a telecommunication service, subject to a comprehensive regulatory regime and common carrier obligations. This note discusses why most VoIP services, with the exception of phone-to-phone Internet Protocol (“IP”) telephony, should be classified as information services and, as such, should remain free from state taxation – focusing specifically on the taxation in New Hampshire. Part II focuses on the technology of VoIP and how it differs from traditional telephony. Part III discusses the distinction between information and telecommunication services in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, whether VoIP may qualify as Internet access in light of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (“ITFA”) of 1998, and the federal regulation of VoIP. Finally, Part IV addresses the debate over taxation of VoIP in New Hampshire and discusses why VoIP services should not yet be taxed by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration in light of federal law and the best interests of local businesses and consumers

Communications report 2013-14 series: report 2

Are you one of the more than five million adult Australians now using a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service? The evolution of VoIP in Australia, the second complementary report in the ACMA Communications report 2013–14 series, shows that VoIP services have been a big part of the rapid change in the voice communications market since 2010. The evolution of VoIP can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the increased availability of broadband across Australia, developments in the OTT communications and media market, and the widespread adoption of smartphones and tablets. VoIP is the name for a range of technologies that allow voice communication to be made using internet protocol (IP) technology. Australian consumers have access to two main types of VoIP services: managed VoIP services bought through a service provider over-the-top (OTT) VoIP delivered by an application that is run over the top of another carriage service. Australians are continuing to take advantage of cheaper or free OTT services such as Skype and Viber. The proportion of adults using OTT VoIP services (on mobile phones, tablet devices, or laptop or desktop computers) increased from 15 to 24 per cent in the four years to 2014. However, Australians are less satisfied with their VoIP service than their fixed-line and mobile phone services—77 per cent of consumers are satisfied or very satisfied with their VoIP service compared to 89 per cent for fixed-line phones and 86 per cent for mobile phones. Satisfaction levels increase up to 84 per cent for those with a paid subscription to a VoIP service

Why the Government Should Not Regulate Internet Telephony?

The Federal Communications Commission has requested comments on the regulation of voice telephone services delivered over the Internet, dubbed "VoIP" or Voice over Internet Protocol. This paper examines whether there is a need to regulate VoIP. We conclude that there is no economic rationale for regulating VoIP and that consumers will likely be worse off if VoIP is regulated. Furthermore, the emergence of new technologies, such as VoIP, is rapidly eroding the rationale for continuing to regulate local telephone services.

Academic Freedom of the Faculty Member as Citizen

A hi-tech company often focuses on being innovative by providing product offerings as product leader, fast follower or with operational excellence. In the international calling sector the technological solutions are numerous. The providers are, for instance, normal telecom providers, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Mobile virtual network operators (MVNO). This means that a company faces not only the competitors that offer the same solution but also from outside the company’s business sector. The company thus needs to tackle many challenges, such as fast-paced product development, market expansion, competitor volatility, at the same time as the company cultivates its brand assets. This study focuses on the branding strategy within the VoIP telecom sector. It aims to set a guideline for how companies, in particular in the VoIP telecom sectors, cultivate and enhance their brand identity in order to differentiate themselves from competitors as well as achieve a successful and sustainable level of brand equity. The thesis also studies the brand strategies that have already manifested themselves within the providers of international calling services, in particular VoIP providers and a couple of MVNO providers. By conducting the brand identity and brand equity analysis, customer analysis and competitors’ analysis, a company can make a decision on brand strategy that will further associate, differentiate, energize and support its brands. The research framework consists of both the corporate and consumer perspectives. It consists of brand theory, market research, competitor analysis and the company’s brand identity, as well as brand awareness analysis. The thesis presents the Swedish VoIP consumers’ behavior and trends, the guideline and case study on how a company bridges the gap between brand identity and brand equity as well as the guideline and case study of brand portfolio strategies that have been explored within the VoIP telecom sectors, i.e. VoIP branding

Quality assessment and usage behavior of a mobile voice-over-IP service

Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services offer users a cheap alternative to the traditional mobile operators to make voice calls. Due to the increased capabilities and connectivity of mobile devices, these VoIP services are becoming increasingly popular on the mobile platform. Understanding the user's usage behavior and quality assessment of the VoIP service plays a key role in optimizing the Quality of Experience (QoE) and making the service to succeed or to fail. By analyzing the usage and quality assessments of a commercial VoIP service, this paper identifies device characteristics, context parameters, and user aspects that influence the usage behavior and experience during VoIP calls. Whereas multimedia services are traditionally evaluated by monitoring usage and quality for a limited number of test subjects and during a limited evaluation period, this study analyzes the service usage and quality assessments of more than thousand users over a period of 120 days. This allows to analyze evolutions in the usage behavior and perceived quality over time, which has not been done up to now for a widely-used, mobile, multimedia service. The results show a significant evolution over time of the number of calls, the call duration, and the quality assessment. The time of the call, the used network, and handovers during the call showed to have a significant influence on the users' quality assessments

Pilot Open Case Series of Voice over Internet Protocol-Delivered Assessment and Behavior Therapy for Chronic Tic Disorders

Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is an efficacious treatment for children with chronic tic disorders (CTDs). Nevertheless, many families of children with CTDs are unable to access CBIT due to a lack of adequately trained treatment providers, time commitment, and travel distance. This study established the interrater reliability between in-person and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) administrations of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), and examined the preliminary efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of VoIP-delivered CBIT for reducing tics in children with CTDs in an open case series. Across in-person and VoIP administrations of the YGTSS, results showed mean agreement of 91%, 96%, and 95% for motor, phonic, and total tic severity subscales. In the pilot feasibility study, 4 children received 8 weekly sessions of CBIT via VoIP and were assessed at pre- and posttreatment by an independent evaluator. Results showed a 29.44% decrease in clinician-rated tic severity from pre- to posttreatment on the YGTSS. Two of the 4 patients were considered treatment responders at posttreatment, using Clinical Global Impressions–Improvement ratings. Therapeutic alliance, parent and child treatment satisfaction, and videoconferencing satisfaction ratings were high. CBIT was considered feasible to implement via VoIP, although further testing is recommended