FCC Chairman Michael Powell says Skype is "fantastic"

I love this quote from the FCC Chairman about Skype:

"FCC Chairman Michael Powell recognizes the challenge Skype and similar services represent. Speaking to a conference at UC San Diego in January, he acknowledged that the regulatory approach the FCC had followed for seventy years was dead. Finished. Kaput. Or, in his words, "I knew it was over when I downloaded Skype. When the inventors of Kazaa are distributing for free a little program that you can use to talk to anybody else, and the quality is fantastic, and it's free - it's over. The world will change now inevitably." Powell wasn't just talking about the free, PC-based Skype. He clearly understood that it was a matter of time before Skype bridged the gap to the more than one billion existing phone users. And he understood that it was as much an opportunity as a threat to the FCC's underlying public policy goals."

source: TCS: Tech Central Station - Tune In, Turn On, Skype Out

I've been using Skype for the last few months to talk to friends around the world and the quality amazes me almost as much as the price (free! as in free beer! as in free linux! wow, that Microsoft chip wears off quickly!).

I've got friends with Pocket PCs running Skype who call me at home from a Starbucks and the quality is still amazing.

Have you heard about iBurst?

"With the iBurst service you can maintain your (wireless) connection whether you are moving between rooms or between suburbs. Assuming you are within the coverage area it will work in the office, at home, on the train, on the beach and everywhere in between!"

It's currently piloting in Sydney and due to pilot in Melbourne in August.

I hope someone at iBurst is listening at looking for Melbourne-based testers! I promise to hammer it for a good couple of months and will write up my review here!