News British ruling cheers VoIP industry

From news.com:

British regulatory agency Ofcom has begun to map out the future of commercial Net phone services.

And while some issues are as yet unresolved, the organization issued a key ruling Monday that was popular among carriers.

The communications regulator announced that Net phone service providers will be able to offer subscribers both geography-based phone numbers and numbers that aren't tied to location.

Geography-based numbers will begin with "01" or "02," as do the United Kingdom's existing fixed-line telephone numbers. This will let consumers choose numbers that indicate where they are located. It will also allow a consumer to shift onto a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service plan and retain his or her existing number.

Nongeographic numbers, which will begin with "056," will be suitable for people who want to use their Net phone service from many locations. For example, a subscriber could install the necessary software on a laptop and connect anywhere over a GPRS or 3G link.

More here

So that'll be 054, if you're outside the net... *

* oppoligies if you're not British, didn't watch Swap Shop or are just too young to get the reference.

 

Very cool. I have a friend here in Texas who will be working on the VoIP project on Internet 2 (I'm jealous as hell, he's not even an engineering major! He's majoring in MUSIC! ), he's supposed to keep me updated on all of it over the next few semesters

I can see it now, "Hey baby, I lost my IP, can I have yours?"