The old public switched telephone network (PSTN) has served its purpose for the past 125 years, and it is now time to adopt the next technology and retire this dinosaur; but moving forward when the government is involved is easier said than done. With so many interested parties and billions of dollars in invested infrastructure, disassembling the old way of doing business will require the FCC (News - Alert) chairman and Congress to have the fortitude to do the right thing instead of what lobbyists recommend. Even though the companies running the telecom industry are private, the government has been heavily involved in this industry, and unfortunately for us it will have to be involved in its retirement

With close to 100 million Americans still dependent on the old technology, the FCC is taking steps to formalize the IP transition by drafting new rules starting in January 2014. Currently three-quarters of the transition is complete and it is only a matter of time before the model the country has relied on for more than a century is completely eliminated.

The push for the acceleration of this transition not only comes from businesses and consumers, but also from the largest operators of millions of miles of phone lines. AT&T (News - Alert) has been putting the fire under the FCC's foot to accelerate the transition and make this technology available as soon as possible.

The legacy systems are extremely ineffective and expensive, costing telecoms large amounts of resources to maintain and upgrade the systems, costing the industry $81 billion between 2006 and 2011. By eliminating the system telecoms will be able to invest in new and future technologies that will improve the way we communicate across all platforms.

The biggest concern for the FCC and communities in underserved areas is IP technology will not be available everywhere. In rural areas traditional phone systems are the only means of communications available to these communities. Until the government is able to establish a new infrastructure for handling the new technology, it will have to find ways to extend the existing system. If the government is not willing to make this investment it can pass regulations for the fast transition of this technology with incentives for companies to make investments in the affected communities.

As the 31st Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler (News - Alert) faces many challenges in a field that has seen its share of controversies this past year. The transition to IP telephony is an eventuality that will take place, but Edward Snowden, the NSA, the FISA court and the love of privacy and what it means to the American psyche all have to be considered.

Chairman Wheeler wrote a blog titled "The IP Transition: Starting Now" just a few day after he was appointed in which he said, "the Commission has received more than 400 comments, letters, and presentations from companies and organizations, including incumbent carriers; rural carriers; competitive carriers; cable companies; wireless providers; VoIP providers; federal, state and local government entities; telecommunications equipment manufacturers and service providers; public safety entities; and public interest organizations…We have listened, and now it is the time to act. In this, I agree with my Commission colleagues."

Let's hope he has indeed listened and will act accordingly.