| This story is one of those
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| | concurrent with the loss of power that
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| too-good-to-be-true tales that actually
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| | your cable system needs, or the loss of
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| might be real. The acronym VoIP stands
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| | cable service itself. If the packet
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| for Voice Over Internet Protocol; that's
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| | switching gear isn't functioning
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| the technology for making telephone calls
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| | properly, phone calls have dropped
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| over the web. Several companies have
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| | segments in them like cell phone signals
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| introduced services that utilize this
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| | cutting in and out.
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| technological capacity and they are
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| | Still, harnessing the Internet to
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| making a commercial success of it. That's
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| | challenge Ma Bell is an audacious and
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| why major cable operators are now
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| | impressive endeavor - and it's working.
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| "bundling" cable service, high speed
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| | Right now, the companies offering the
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| Internet access and telephone service in
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| | service allow you to plug your phone into
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| a package. They can provide all three
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| | your computer and make your calls at a
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| products over the single coaxial cable
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| | vastly reduced rate than you'll see from
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| wire that comes through your wall at
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| | your local phone provider. They aren't
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| home.
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| | stopping there either. One of them
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| Telephone service over cable blows right
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| | already has a Wi-Fi phone out that will
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| past the "level playing field" that
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| | allow you to drop into a wired internet
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| antitrust decisions have sought to
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| | café and call anywhere in the
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| achieve in order to provide competition
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| | world.
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| for phone service on a local level. The
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| | So the question becomes, "Can a $4.95 per
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| telephone companies' switching systems
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| | month worldwide phone service survive?"
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| and all those copper cables on all those
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| | The simple answer would be "How could it
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| poles have been totally subverted by
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| | fail?" The true issue here is how the
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| another Internet service. In the words of
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| | phone companies respond. They are a
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| Peter Sisson, a former Bell Labs
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| | powerful political and economic force. If
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| researcher, "Telephone service used to be
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| | they can saddle the cable operators
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| based on a huge infrastructure of
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| | offering VoIP with common carrier status,
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| high-priced equipment...and now it's just
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| | that would bring them into the regulatory
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| software."
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| | realm.
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| VoIP is technology that accesses
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| | VoIP services could become enormously
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| underutilized bandwidth to move voice
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| | popular, and that will inevitably drive
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| communications over cable systems.
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| | prices up. Just as with the video portion
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| "Packet Switching" technology moves audio
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| | of cable, once we had to have it the
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| signals along the same coaxial and fiber
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| | rates went on a steady climb that
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| cables that carry Internet traffic and
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| | continues year after year. But the beauty
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| cable TV programming. The technology has
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| | of the Internet is that you can switch to
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| been developed to compress video signals
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| | another VoIP provider with a half hour's
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| and to more efficiently move data bits
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| | worth of clicks and one cancellation call
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| for email, web browsing and audio
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| | to the cable company. With no
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| conversations along shared bandwidths by
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| | infrastructure required other than the
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| isolating the information into "packets"
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| | usual bevy of servers, there are going to
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| and sending them downstream like boxes on
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| | be a lot of aggressive new firms that try
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| a conveyor belt.
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| | to make themselves into the phone
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| The down sides for this product concept
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| | companies of the new millennium.
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| include the loss of phone service
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