The judge who vacated the Minnesota Public Services Commission regulations concerning Vonage earlier in the week issued more detailed comments and rationale today. In a Washington Post article the judge is quoted:

State regulation would effectively decimate Congress's mandate that the Internet remain unfettered by regulation. The court therefore grants Vonage's request for injunctive relief.

I haven't found the actual ruling yet to link to. The MPSC has not said whether they'll appeal or not, but I think its a foregone conclusion that they will.

The real issue in my mind is this. If I had brought the Cisco ATA186 that Vonage gave me to my hotel in Colorado, it would work. I'd be using an 801 number, but with number portability, I think we'll see the tie between numbers and geography disappear over time. Its just a billing question now. I'd be using networks in Colorado to talk to a switch in New Jersey. Which gateway I use depends on who I call or who calls me. So why does Utah have a stake in regulating that transaction?