2nd VoIP Security Workshop

["Ram Dantu" <>]

Hello everybody,


VoIP Security Workshop will be held
during June 1-2 in Washington DC.
We are looking for papers and presentations
for this workshop. Please visit the following
website for more information
http://www.cs.unt.edu/~rdantu/2ndVOIPWorkshopCallForPapers.pdf

Ram Dantu



> I suspect that this is a harbinger of things to come!
>
>
>
> washingtonpost.com
> Phone Company Settles in Blocking of Internet Calls
>
> By Jonathan Krim
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Friday, March 4, 2005; Page E02
>
> The Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday that a North
> Carolina-based telephone company agreed to pay $15,000 and to stop
> blocking the ability of consumers to use voice-over-Internet calling
> services instead of regular phone lines.
>
> In the first action of its kind, the FCC settled with Madison River
> Communications Corp., which operates several rural phone companies
> throughout the Southeast and Midwest.
>
> Calling based on voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) increasingly is being
> used by businesses and consumers as a substitute for traditional phone
> service. Although VoIP requires high-speed Internet access, its major
> providers offer unlimited local, long-distance, and even some
> international calling for as little as $20 a month.
>
> Vonage Holdings Corp., one of the nation's leading Internet phone
> companies, had complained that as many as 200 customers had their service
> blocked by a Madison River subsidiary that provided its phone customers
> with Internet access.
>
> For those customers who had disconnected their traditional phone lines and
> were relying solely on Vonage, the blocking meant they had no ability to
> make calls, even to emergency 911 services.
>
> "The industry must adhere to certain consumer protection norms if the
> Internet is to remain an open platform for innovation," FCC Chairman
> Michael K. Powell said in a statement.
>
> A spokesman for Madison River declined to comment, citing the company's
> pending filing for an initial public offering of its stock.
>
> Vonage chief executive Jeffrey A. Citron praised the FCC for moving
> quickly.
>
> "Blocking is akin to censorship," Citron said. Voice-over-Internet traffic
> is just like any other type of content, he said, and if an Internet
> provider were allowed to block calls, it could also censor certain types
> of news or entertainment.
>
> "This sends a clear message . . . that interference in broadband
> communication will not be tolerated by the government," he said.
>
> But the Madison River case may not be an isolated incident. Citron said
> Vonage is investigating incidents involving other small telephone
> companies around the country.
>
> Christopher Libertelli, Powell's senior legal advisor, said other VoIP
> providers have brought similar complaints to the commission, and they are
> being evaluated.
>
> According to Nuvio Corp., a Missouri-based Internet phone provider, two
> cable companies that provide Internet access appeared to be degrading its
> service.
>
> Jason P. Talley, Nuvio's chief executive, said that when his customers
> complained to their cable companies, they were told that if they switched
> to the cable company's voice service, the problems would disappear.
>
> "That raised the hair on the back of our necks," said Talley, who declined
> to name the cable companies.
>
> Unlike outright blocking, Talley said, degrading service by introducing
> delays or dropping occasional calls is difficult to prove.
>
> Some consumer groups, and even a few major technology corporations, have
> called on the FCC to establish strong "network neutrality" guidelines.
>
> They say this is especially important as the current FCC pushes to reduce
> rules governing Internet services provided over phone lines. Cable firms
> are free from regulations over their Internet services, but that is being
> challenged in a case that is scheduled to be heard by the U.S. Supreme
> Court on March 29.
>
> Major cable and phone companies, while saying they have no intention of
> engaging in network discrimination, nonetheless oppose formal guidelines
> or rules.
>
> Powell said yesterday that the proper way to handle the issue is through
> case-by-case enforcement.
>
> © 2005 The Washington Post Company
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>
>
> Chris Peabody
> Director, Enterprise Network Communications
> L Robert Kimball & Associates
> 8500 Leesburg Pike  Suite 210
> Vienna, Va  22182
> 703-288-0577 Main
> 703-288-0445  Direct
> 301-529-3825 Cell
>
>