In response to requests from service providers, early attempts at regulation by state regulators and pleadings from lawmakers, FCC Chairman Michael Powell convened a Forum to discuss and gather information concerning advancements, innovations, and regulatory issues related to VoIP services.

The agenda for the meeting are:

	Opening statements by Chairman and Commissioners
	Background presentation by FCC Staff
	Panel I - What is VoIP
	Panel II – VoIP and Public Policy

The Forum provided a platform for all concerned to state their starting positions, even though not all the objectives were met. For example, nobody attempted to answer the basic question posed to the first panel – What is VoIP? This page documents some of the comments that caught my attention. Where appropriate, I have included my personal comments; such comments are identified by the use Comic Sans MS font.

The agenda and the links to the presentation material are available at www.fcc.gov/voip and the video stream of the event is available at www.fcc.gov/voip/realaudio/publicforums.html .