From the FCC web site. This topic was presented here a few days ago. Looks like the boss is saying nothing will change. <:)=

faq_recp.html at www.fcc.gov

Q: Has the FCC opened the door to Internet charges?

A: Absolutely not. The FCC has reconfirmed the Internet's exemption. Consumers will see no new charges on their Internet or phone bills.

Q: Are we going to see new long distance charges to connect to the Internet?

A: Rumors have been spread by some people, but these rumors are false. The FCC will not impose long distance charges for dialing up the Internet.

Q: Is there any way that local phone companies will be able to start imposing usage-sensitive access charges to Internet service providers?

A: No. The exemption from long distance access charges is solid as a rock and has been upheld in court.

Q: The FCC will not allow long distance charges for local calls to the internet. But has the FCC made it easier for states to impose long distance charges for local calls to the Internet?

A: No. States have no power to impose long distance charges. Only the FCC can do that, and we declared our jurisdiction over this traffic.

Q: What changes can consumers expect to see as the result of this decision -- in the short run, and in the long run?

A: Consumers should see no changes in their Internet or phone bills, either in the short run or long run, as a result of this Order. The big picture in the long run is very positive -- our continued "hands off" policy towards the Internet will allow it to continue growing rapidly, unfettered by regulations.

Q: How will Internet providers react to this Order? Will this be good for business or bad for business?

A: It's good for business and consumers. We have clarified how companies pay each other for this traffic and we have done so in a way that prohibits the assessment of long distance charges. This can only help consumers.

Q: Why were so many negative rumors spread around?

A: The Internet has become extremely important to a lot of people in the last few years. We get letters every week from people for whom access to the Internet has opened up whole new possibilities for business, social service, and life. The very idea of paying long-distance-type charges for hours web surfing naturally produces great anxiety. Therefore these rumors tend to spring up anytime the FCC does anything related to long distance service.

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 28, 1999

Answers

A government spokesperson said "Absolutely not." Said "No" too. Wow! This old git's mind is well and truly boggled. Try as I might, I can't find a sliver of ambiguity, a morsel of obfuscation, a soupcon of terminological inexactitude in the above statements. Very, very reassuring. You think if we all write letters we could get this spokesperson spokesing about Y2K? Thanks, Sysman, for your work in keeping us updated.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), March 01, 1999.

Old Git, LOL, love your way with words! Yes, it's more straightforward than most, eh? Relief! hopefully not premature.

Sysman, thanks for the update. Nice to have more news-worthy input. Keep us in the loop scoop.

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), March 01, 1999.

So why did they have to change the previous policy - if nothing was going to change from the previous policy?

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 02, 1999.