No, not Colin -- I'm talking about his son, Michael, who heads the FCC. (Uhhmm, sure . . . right . . . there's no nepotism in Washington; I haven't the slightest doubt that 'lil Mike got the job at about age 17 because of his massive telecommunications experience and knowledge. But that's another story.)

And I'm also not talking about Powell's position on the crudity of some of the stuff traveling across our airwaves, because I actually am the world's preeminent hypocrite on this issue. On the one hand, and in my capacity as the father of four children, I am conceptually in favor of cleaning up some of the blyech being broadcast around publicly. But on the other hand, I tend to appreciate the occasional shot of bawdy tabasco in my bowl of informational pablum. I wasn't tickled about the Janet Jackson thing, and Howard Stern isn't my favorite guy, but I don't lay awake at night worrying about them. But I digress.

Where Master Powell has gotten it right is on the topic of voice-over-internet protocol, or "VOIP." This is the coolest thing to hit in a very long time. VOIP is essentially the use of the internet for the transmission of packetized, real-time voice messages -- or telephone communications. It represents (i) the possibility of a transfer of the entire "telephone" system to the internet, and (ii) a massive competitive threat to the traditional POTS system that is now dominated by Verizon, SBC, Pacific Bell and others. And from a consumer perspective, it flat works. I'm a Vonage user, and I pay $25 a month for everything -- unlimited domestic calls to anywhere in the United States and Canada (VOIP completely breaks down the fiction of "long-distance calls"). Because it's completely unconnected to the old POTS geographic grid, VOIP also offers all sorts of neat number-related tricks, which delink number choice from physical location. But the bottom line consumer-wise is that it's cheap, and it really functions well.

It's cheap, that is, so long as it's not heavily regulated. And that's where Powell comes into play. He's been an incredibly vigorous advocate of immunizing VOIP from the sort of state and local regulation (in other words, taxes, fees, charges, etc) that would strangle VOIP and undermine it's ability to shake up the telecommunications world in a big way. This past week, for instance, under Powell's guidance, the FCC took the position that VOIP communications are entirely interstate in nature, and thus immune from state and local regulation. Though the ruling will certainly be challenged at the administrative level, and there is always the risk that Congress will legislate VOIP into commercial banality, the FCC at least is taking the right approach, and it's one that seems generally to be gaining traction in Washington. If it holds, and if VOIP remains as unregulated as it generally is now, I'd bet a Jackson that in 10 years everyone -- everyone -- will be using it, and the "telephone" system as we now know it will be as dead as the dinosaurs.