What FCC chair Powell's resignation means for VoIP

We report that FCC Chair Michael Powell is expected to announce his resignation today. Fellow VoIP blogger Tom Keating calls Powell "a friend of VoIP," and wishes him well.

Powell has been a prime and proactive force for the majority FCC position that whatever VoIP regulations are enacted should be overseen by the agency, not by states that might wish to tax or impose other rules on VoIP phone calls and other services in their jurisdictions.

Would the FCC's stance on VoIP change under a replacement? I doubt it. More than just the passions of one bureaucrat, this attitude is a credo of the Bush Administration's economic policies. Plus, the FCC has gone to court with this opinion.

History shows that once an agency starts making their position known in court filingsrather than just in regulatory statements, reversal of attitude is rare. That only seems to happen whenthe party in power changes and personnel at the top of the agency leave to be replaced by appointees nominated by the new administration.

That won't happen here, of course. The administration in power gets to appoint a successor. It was not a Massachusetts Democrat who held his hand on the Bible yesterday.

What do you think will happen? Tell me in TalkBack below.