"The chairman has done the voice over IP industry wonders, " says Jeff Pulver, chief executive of Free World Dialup , a VoIP service provider which in February was the subject of one of Powell's salutary FCC rulings.

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In February, the FCC said that Free World Dialup should be considered an "unregulated information service" under FCC jurisdiction, rather than a telecom service, which would be governed by numerous state and federal regulations.

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In that scenario, says Free World Dialup's Pulver, a carrier could block service and effectively make its own VoIP product the only available option.

FORBES