Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!ptsfa!ames!hao!gatech!hubcap!ncrcae!ncr-sd!crash!gryphon!cadovax!keithd
From: keithd@cadovax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.atari.st,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: ATTENTION ALL MICRO USERS!!! FCC INFORMATION TAX AHEAD!!
Message-ID: <1593@cadovax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Jun-87 01:40:14 EDT
Article-I.D.: cadovax.1593
Posted: Mon Jun 15 01:40:14 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 17-Jun-87 01:02:24 EDT
References: <2288@husc6.UUCP>
Reply-To: keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle)
Distribution: world
Organization: Contel Business Systems, Torrance, CA
Lines: 27
Xref: utgpu comp.sys.amiga:5326 comp.sys.atari.st:3726 comp.sys.mac:3547 comp.sys.ibm.pc:4234

In article <2288@husc6.UUCP> hadeishi@husc4.UUCP (mitsuharu hadeishi) writes:
>	A terrible piece of news I just read about in the New York Times
>this morning.  The FCC just voted 4-0 to impose a $4.50 - $5.50 an HOUR
>tax on people who are using the phone system to transmit information
>across state lines.

How do they propose to meter it?  Force the phone company to attach 
metering equipment to lines and charge it to our phone bills?

And what's the definition of 'information'.  Isn't voice communication,
and video also 'information'?  If not, then wouldn't it be legitimate
for speech synthesizer/recognizer 'modems' to communicate automatically 
over these lines without tariff?

Does it cover microwave, radio, and satellite transmissions as well?  Or
just 'phone' lines.  Then what exactly *is* the definition of 'phone'
lines?  Just 'public' phone lines, or private lines as well?

Sounds like an opportunity for someone to make money providing some 'new'
mechanism for inter-state communications traffic at a rate that is cost-
effective when compared with the new 'taxed' phone lines.  So who makes
the money?  Sprint?  MCI?  Cable Video companies?  Some new company?


Keith Doyle
#  {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!keithd
#  cadovax!keithd@ucla-locus.arpa  Contel Business Systems 213-323-8170