FCC ANNOUNCES AGENDA FOR THE VOICE OVER IP FORUM TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 1, 2003

Washington, D.C., November 25, 2003/Wi-Fi Technology News/- The Federal Communications Commission announces a Forum to discuss Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). All FCC Commissioners will participate. The hearing is open to the public, and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The hearing date, time, and location are:

Date & Time: Monday December 1, 2003
10:30 a.m. ? 3:00 p.m.

Location: Federal Communications Commission
Commission Meeting Room
445 12th Street, NW
Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the Forum is to gather information concerning advancements, innovations, and regulatory issues related to VoIP services. The agenda and further details are attached. Information concerning the Forum, including the agenda, copies of presentations, and bios of the speakers, will be available at the Forum webpage http://www.fcc.gov/voip/.


Facilities
The FCC is located at 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. Directions and a map of the streets near the FCC are available at http://www.fcc.gov/portalsmap.html. The Commission Meeting Room is equipped with a Wi-Fi Internet network.

Security
Please note that the FCC is a federal building with security. All attendees will be required to pass through security. The FCC's Commission Meeting Room will be opened early to facilitate access to the building; attendees are encouraged to allocate additional time to enter the building.

Webcast & Video
The VoIP Forum will be webcast live and also archived for later viewing. Access to and additional information concerning the webcast is available at http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/. For a fee this meeting can be accessed live over George Mason University's Capitol Connection including live via the Internet. To purchase these services call (703) 993-3100 or go to http://www.capitolconnection.gmu.edu/. Audio and video tapes of this meeting can be purchased from CACI Productions, 341 Victory Drive, Herndon, VA 20170, telephone number (703) 834-1470, Ext. 19; fax number (703) 834-0111.

Reasonable Accommodations
Open captioning and sign language interpreters will be provided for this event. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Include a description of the accommodation you will need including as much detail as you can. Also include a way we can contact you if we need more information. Make your request as early as possible. Last minute requests will be accepted, but may not be possible to fill. Send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau: For sign language interpreters, CART, and other reasonable accommodations: 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty). For accessible format materials (braille, large print, electronic files, and audio format): 202-418-0531 (voice), 202-418-7365 (tty).


For further information please contact Robert Pepper, Chief, Policy Development; email: voipforum@fcc.gov; voice: 202-418-2030. Press inquires should be directed to Meribeth McCarrick, at 202-418-0654.



- FCC -




FCC Voice over IP Forum
December 1, 2003
Agenda

10:30 Welcome

10:40-11:00 Opening statements by Chairman and Commissioners

11:00-11:15 Background Presentation by FCC Staff

FCC Precedents regarding VoIP

11:15-12:15 Panel I?What is VoIP? (technical and service features and issues)

The first panel will address technical and market issues surrounding VoIP service. Panelists will be asked to describe the technology and capabilities of VoIP, and how VoIP can be used to offer end users lower-cost, innovative services with capabilities previously unavailable in voice communications. Panelists will address how the FCC might distinguish among the numerous services employing VoIP, and whether it could feasibly distinguish between VoIP and other IP-enabled applications facilitating communication (ranging from e-mail to instant messaging to videoconferencing to interactive online gaming).

Kevin Werbach, Founder, Supernova Group
Charles H. Giancarlo, SVP and General Manager, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Jeff Pulver, President and CEO, Pulver.com
John Hodulik, Managing Director, Communications Group, UBS
John Billock, COO, Time Warner Cable

12:15-1:00 Break

1:00-2:30 Panel II?VoIP and Public Policy

The second panel will address public policy questions raised by VoIP. Panelists will be asked to address what, if any, regulatory obligations currently imposed upon traditional circuit-switched voice service providers should be placed upon VoIP providers and whether from either legal or technical perspectives such obligations are feasible. Panelists may focus on traditional utility regulatory issues such as non-discrimination and price regulation as well as social policies such as access by persons with disabilities, universal service, CALEA, and E911.

Michael Gallagher, Acting Assistant Secretary, Department of Commerce
Commissioner Carl Wood, California PUC
Commissioner Charles Davidson, Florida PSC
James Crowe, CEO, Level3
Tom Evslin, CEO, ITXC
Jeffrey Citron, CEO, Vonage
Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Project on Telecommunications Access, University of Wisconsin


2:30-2:50 Closing statements by Chairman and Commissioners