AT&T Joins Fray for Cheaper Calls Through the Web. AT&T plans to offer unlimited long distance and local calling using Internet technology at a significantly lower cost.

The real question now becomes what will the government do in regards to regulatingVoIP?  Now that the major telcos are entering the space will they still push for VoIP to be taxed as a telco?  On the one hand any taxes will be assessed against them as well as their nimble competitors.  On the other hand they are already incurring the tax penalties on their old phone network and will now be unable to pass those costs on to the consumer.

Also, the IRS is very loathe to give up a revenue stream, probably moreso now that we have a war on terror to finance.  It will be interesting to see what they do as VoIP moves from the growth stages into the mature technology arena.  Any decisions made now will have broad repercussions.  If the government decides to assess a transaction charge it is a small step from there to the point where they (and thus the companies themselves) charge the individual consumer on a usage basis much like the utility companies.  via [New York Times: Technology]
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