Monolithic governmental organizations usually take a significant amount of time in order to reach to a decision. Considering the effects of the decisions they make it is quite understandable, but certain situations demand expediency.

The request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)) was made by a coalition of six free-market groups led by the Center for Individual freedom (CFIF). They want the FCC to grant AT&T (News - Alert) permission to start trial runs for IP transition. Their request, according to the filing made by the group, is for a common goal, advocating policies for technological advancements without the heavy hand of regulators standing in the way of progress.

The comment by Timothy Lee, VP of Legal and Public Affairs for CFIF says it best, “In order to ensure a rapid transition to an all-IP world to keep up with consumer demand, we cannot allow for network providers, who are working to modernize networks, to be hindered by regulations that seek to deter progress.” 

It seems as if the FCC is still relying on old regulatory standards for the transition from public switched telephone network (PSTN) to an all IP network and they are having a hard time sunsetting the old system and facing the inevitable, an all IP network.

It is the duty of the FCC to inform the industry about the switch so they can stop pouring money down the drain in a system that will eventually be obsolete.

A report by the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, titled Broadband in America in 2009, revealed the three largest wireline carriers would spend $10 billion a year until the end of 2011 for a total of $30 billion for a service that is rapidly becoming obsolete.

The request for the IP transition is a very obvious one, at least to everyone but the FCC. Even a survey conducted within the US government by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) revealed for the first half of 2012 almost 36 percent of US households stopped their landline telephone service permanently choosing instead mobile phones to make calls. This number will only increase as mobile devices become an all-in-one communication and computing tool for most consumers.

Although the chairman of the FCC, Genachowski pointed out recently “…the ongoing changes in our nation’s communications networks require a hard look at many rules that were written for a different technological and market landscape,” the hesitation on the part of the commission is still a mystery. With a decline of more than 10 percent each year by Local Exchange Carriers (LECs), perhaps they’re waiting until everyone switches before they make the decision.