Ingalls Urges Change in Telecom Law to Reflect Technology Convergence and Speed Video Competition

Verizon Retail Markets President Robert Ingalls told members of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications April 20th that his company is poised to provide customers with a new competitive choice in television service, but that current regulatory requirements threaten to delay the benefits for consumers.

The new service, called FiOS TV, will be offered later this year over Verizon’s new fiber-to-the-premises broadband network, which is capable of delivering 100 megabits downstream and up to 15 megabits upstream.

SBC calls for light-touch regulatory approach to ensure consumers receive new technology quickly

IP-based television will change the way consumers watch TV while opening a new competitive choice for millions, said Lea Ann Champion, senior executive vice president of IP Operations and Services for SBC Communications Inc. at a U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing about the future of new technology.

Champion demonstrated the capabilities of IP-based video or IPTV for lawmakers and urged them to avoid imposing incumbent obligations on new entrants in the video services market that would discourage deployment of the new system.

As reported on CNet, Kevin Martin has been selected by George W. Bush as the next FCC chairman. Why is this important to IPTV you may ask? The simple answer is that the hands-off approach Martin's predecessor, Michael Powell, demonstrated has propelled the broadband and VoIP revolution. During his term, broadband and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) regulation was very limited in nature, which has sprung VoIP providers all over the map.