VON: Powell bids fond farewell

SAN JOSE--Outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said goodbye to his favorite audience today, getting a standing ovation from a Voice on the Net crowd appreciative of his fight to keep voice over IP free of regulation.

"As my nearly eight years at the FCC comes to a close, I can think of no better place than VON to deliver my swan song," Powell said. "VoIP most clearly stands for what I have fought so hard to achieve."

In a somewhat melodramatic address short on regulatory details but long on duck metaphors, Powell reminded the audience that "when VoIP really began to fly out of the marshes, the hunters rose up to take aim," and the FCC "took aim at the duck hunters." "We encouraged everyone to look more carefully at this bird, it should not be hunted or caged but allowed to soar," he said.

More seriously, however, he also reminded the VoIP community that growing up can be painful. "You do need to recognize you won't be a rock star forever," he said. VoIP providers will have to meet customer expectations and be prepared to work with regulators to find compromises on tricky issues such as E911 and intercarrier compensation, Powell warned.

He urged VON attendees to help the FCC by coming forward with compromises and not forcing the regulators to choose between "unsatisfactory binary choices," such as deciding whether to burden VoIP with legacy access charges or allow it to ride the public network free of charge.

Powell also told VoIP service providers and investors to "keep squawking" and make their presence and positions known in Washington. He said in a press conference following his address that while the post-Powell FCC may lack his strong advocacy for VoIP, the basic framework of freedom is in place and he doesn't see that changing.