The top U.S. telecom regulator said Thursday that he has no intention of setting rules for Internet telephony, which he said could have a dramatic impact on voice communications.
Companies that offer voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) have seen rapid growth in recent months as people embrace lower-cost communications online with quality comparable to traditional phones.
“It’s probably the most significant paradigm shift in the entire history of modern communications, since the invention of the telephone,” Michael Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, told journalists at the World Economic Forum.
