Two broadband providers are causing problems for Vonage's Internet phone traffic, a spokeswoman said Monday, suggesting that a recent federal fine for blocking Vonage calls may not have had its intended impact.
A cable operator and what Vonage spokeswoman Brooke Schulz would only describe as a "wireless broadband provider" are the two alleged culprits. The problems include Vonage calls not getting through and Vonage home phone adapters not working, she said.
The complaints surface about three weeks after a Mebane, N.C., telecom provider, Madison River Communication, said it would "refrain from blocking" voice over Internet Protocol calls and pay a $15,000 fine to the government. Vonage, a Voip provider, brought Madison River to the Federal Communications Commission's attention, and is doing so with providers involved in these latest problems.
The FCC had hoped the Madison River enforcement would help eradicate what's commonly referred to as "port blocking," a way of blocking traffic--one that telecom providers threatened by Voip are turning to with increasing frequency. The FCC wasn't commenting Monday on the impact of the fine, or about the Vonage complaints.
Schulz said the company at first assumed the latest problems were user error, a typical starting point for any investigation of this nature. But now the "ongoing investigation is of great concern," she said.
She would not say whether by "wireless" she meant broadband providers using networks based on cell phone technology or Wi-Fi, which are high-speed wireless networks over free-to-use spectrum commonly found in transportation hubs, lodgings, offices and homes.
It's more likely a Wi-Fi operator is involved. Wi-Fi and Vonage traffic are based on Internet Protocol, the backbone of the Internet and most privately owned and operated communications networks. Plus, Vonage encourages its 500,000-plus subscribers to turn Wi-Fi hot spots into giant free phone booths. While cell phone operators are showing more willingness to add Voip and Wi-Fi into their repertoires, there aren't enough commercial services or VoIP-ready handsets in the United States to generate traffic levels that would worry a cell operator.
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Makovich wrote that if one used a router it would help to get around Telmex, I am using a Linksys WRT54G, it does not help. To use the PC as a router is difficult with only one available LAN port, I doubt this would help, I think Telmex has a program that identifies the Pack 8 packet and imposes a latency. I know of no one that can still use Vonage in Baja via Telmex's Terminals, we have tweaked everything as best as possible to try to get the packets through, is is very difficult for the call receiver to understand the voice from Mexico.
mbhn5204 Vonage Forum Evangelist
Joined: Jan 19, 2005 Posts: 492
Location: Denver, Colorado
The FCC has always been known for its' ludicrous fines. $15,000 dollars is not a deterrent to a company with millions in its petty cash fund. If the fines were raised to a level that would make a dent in their annual dividends, then the stockholders would hang the board out the 50th story window by its toes. This would stop if the FCC grew up and used the power that was given it expressly for this purpose. Yet, I think that the FCC may actually have been paid off to look the other way for a while and then produce the proverbial slap on the wrist. Perhaps we need to get into the game and retaliate.
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