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Telecom reform in the state of Colorado is on the move, and a recent recall of two Colorado lawmakers – Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron – is what’s likely making it happen.

Telecom reform in the state has been a long time coming, as there has been a lot of bitterness surrounding the funding of expanded broadband to rural areas. Morse has been in favor of state authority over VoIP.

"Most recently, Senate Bill 287 would have diverted a portion of the nearly $60 million ratepayer-funded High Cost Support Mechanism toward broadband expansion in unserved and underserved parts of the state," reported the Colorado Statesman.

Now that Morse is no longer in the way due to the recall, the change is likely.

"We're anxious to see what the Senate leadership looks like in the next week or so. I hope this year has a much different outcome, a much more positive outcome for broadband consumers in the state," Bill Soards, president of AT&T (News - Alert) Colorado told the publication.

Congress made a clear choice to prefer competition over regulation when it enacted the Telecommunications Act of 1996, whose stated goal was "to provide for a pro-competitive, de-regulatory national policy framework designed to accelerate rapidly private sector deployment of advanced information technologies and services to all Americans by opening all telecommunications markets to competition."

Investment in telecommunications is a necessary step for communities for business growth. With so many areas in the U.S. lacking in broadband, firms are answering the call by investing in the necessary infrastructure.

The Telecom Act pervaded a much-needed dose of competition into the traditional landline world, but the fact remains that telecommunications is still widely regulated.

IP communications are here to stay and many people love Internet phone service for its low prices and high quality service. Within the coming years, analysts predict that the analog telephone network will be largely shut down and replaced with VoIP and cellular systems. As VoIP becomes the center of the U.S. telecom system, some feel regulatory measures will ensure that the VoIP industry grows in a healthy way.