The Perils of Tracking Current Events

So yesterday, I posted an article about CALEA and mentioned both the recent FCC activity and the oral arguments at the DC Circuit.  Not six hours later, I learn of the AP report (in this case, via the LA Times) that reports on the arguments themselves... and if I'd thought a little, I would have skimmed Google News and come across Declan McCullagh's first-hand coverage of the arguments.

Skepticism in the courtroom doesn't always translate into "favorable" opinions.  What I do find interesting about the report, however, is the suggestion by Judge Sentelle (apparently echoed by Judge Edwards) that pure Internet calling (e.g. the original Skype) may be exempt from CALEA, but VoIP services that connect to the traditional telephone network (e.g. Vonage, AT&T CallVantage, Verizon Broadwing) are likely covered.  I'm curious to see how this line of reasoning might  affect the SkypeOut and SkypeIn plans (which do connect to the PSTN) now that Skype is a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay, as well as AOL's plan to begin offering telephone numbers on its voice/instant messaging service.

Technorati: CALEA, VoIP, Skype, DC Circuit