[marcelo]

In his afternoon keynote address at VON 2003, Vonage CEO Jeffrey Citron eviscerated states' efforts to regulate IP-to-Phone VoIP service, saying that "they play right into the hands of parties interested in stagnating telecom advancement."

In his fiery and illuminating speech, Citron compared the VoIP industry to the wireless industry two decades ago, saying broadband telephony faces "the same location, number portability and mobility hurdle" the early mobile phone companies face.

In an ideal world, Citron maintained, "VoIP should be afforded the same maturation period as the wireless industry, tempered with a similar interstate tax structure as the internet."

"Forcing certification upon broadband communications services does not solve the technical issues areound E911 and call origination," he said.

Citron also announced one new feature and several new area codes for Vonage.

Within 10 days, Citron promised, Vonage will be releasing a softphone that can be used with its service, thereby making it possible to make phone calls directly on a computer while bypassing the ATA-186 telephony adaptor.

By the end of the year, Citron said, Vonage will be extending its area code coverage to include New Orleans, Omaha, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Brimingham, AL, Kansas City, MO, Cincinatti, OH, and Jacksonville, FL.