From BusinessWeek
Ahead of the Bell: Phantom Telephone Traffic
04/22/2008 3:12 PM ETA Senate committee on Wednesday will review concerns among some telephone companies over not being able to bill for traffic over their networks because the calls can't be identified.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Monday will examine the scope and size of such "phantom traffic."
Telephone companies recover part of their operating costs by charging other carriers a fee for delivering traffic over their networks. But if companies can't identify a call or where it originated from, they can't bill for it. By law, carriers are required to put all calls through in case of an emergency.
It's unclear how widespread phantom traffic is or how much it's costing telephone companies, especially rural ones. Some say the problem will only get worse as more people use software to make calls through their computers.
Among the witnesses scheduled for the hearing include Charles McKee, director of government affairs for Sprint Nextel Corp., and Larry Sarjeant, a vice president at Qwest Communications International Inc.
The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EDT.
Wow. I need to find this phone plan.
But it does pose a good question. As communication continues to drive through software based applications (and is only going to increase), how are the telecom. companies going to track and bill?
It will be interesting to see how this proceeds forward.
~the GURU
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1 comment:
This makes sense. Pro-rate of costs over a phantom network, that is. How could it be any other way?
Looks like the phone companies are stuck--like hospitals who are forbidden by law to deny treatment.
So be it. If that's the way it is, there is only one thing to do: find a way.
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