04/01/96 YOUR TRUE VOICE: THE INTERNET?

YOUR TRUE VOICE: THE INTERNET?

TELEPHONE COMPANIES ARE trying to squelch upstart rivals using the Net to make cheap long-distance calls. Yes, you can talk with a faraway friend via the audio component of your PC--and avoid paying standard phone rates. (Downside: Calls must be prearranged.)
The telephone crowd is complaining to the Federal Communications Commission. ``We feel they are giving away our product,'' gripes Charles Helein, general counsel of the America's Carriers Telecommunications Assn., representing 130 smaller phone companies. They buy capacity from major carriers and resell it to consumers. Since margins are thin, they're sweating. Big carriers such as MCI and Sprint haven't joined the FCC complaint, since they make money carrying Net traffic and have enough call volume so I-phones aren't yet a threat.
To slow them down, if not kill them outright, ACTA is asking the FCC to regulate the I-phone companies, who have 20,000-plus customers. Because they're charging only for software, not actual calls, VocalTech, DigiPhone, and other upstarts argue that regulation makes no sense for them. An FCC decision won't come until late this year, at the earliest.
EDITED BY LARRY LIGHT, WITH OLUWABUMNI SHABI By Mark Lewyn