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FCC Declares Authority Over States On VoIP |
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FCC Declares Authority Over States On VoIP
November 10, 2004
By John Woolfolk
Federal regulators Tuesday declared authority over the states in governing Internet phone services, a move providers called crucial to fostering growth, innovation and competitive pricing in the budding industry.
But the Federal Communications Commission's 5-0 vote left for later key decisions on how Internet phone companies will be regulated with regard to 911 emergency calls, consumer protection and telecommunication access subsidies for the poor, disabled and remote.
The FCC order declared Web-based phone services known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, to be interstate in nature and therefore under federal rather than state jurisdiction.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 04:04:31 CST
(704 reads)
Read More: FCC Declares Authority Over States On VoIP
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FCC Clears Way For Internet Phone |
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FCC Clears Way For Internet Phone Growth
November 10, 2004
By Paul Taylor
US regulators ruled yester-day that a New Jersey-based internet telephone service company is exempt from some regulation by US states, a move likely to clear the way for more competition in the market for internet calling.
The Federal Communications Commission ruled in favour of Vonage Holdings, a broadband VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service provider, in a move designed to protect Vonage and other consumer VoIP providers from piecemeal state regulation.
"This landmark order rec-ognises that a revolution (in telephony) has occurred," said Michael Powell, the FCC chairman. He said internet voice services had "cracked the 19th-century mould, to the great benefit of consumers".
Vonage pioneered consumer broadband VoIP services in the US market with its DigitalVoice service and now has about 300,000 lines in operation.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 04:02:08 CST
(770 reads)
Read More: FCC Clears Way For Internet Phone
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Federal Communications Commission Says No To States |
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US Federal Communications Commission Says No To State Rules For VoIP Calls
November 10, 2004
By Gareth Williams
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided that state regulators will be unable to place their own regulations on VoIP and that any regulatory decisions will be taken at a federal level. This means that states will be unable to force companies such as Vonage to make payments towards universal services or adhere to emergency phone-service rules.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 03:59:58 CST
(737 reads)
Read More: Federal Communications Commission Says No To States
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FCC Blocks States From Regulating Net Phone Services |
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FCC Blocks States From Regulating Net Phone Services
November 10, 2004
By Peter J. Howe
Federal regulators decided yesterday to prevent states from heavily regulating companies that provide Internet-based phone service.
Those likely to benefit include Vonage Holdings Corp.; AT&T Corp. and its CallVantage service; Verizon and its VoiceWing service; and other telephone and cable television companies.
The unanimous Federal Communications Commission ruling failed to address some lingering disputes, including whether Internet phone subscribers should pay the same federal "universal service" charges as conventional landline subscribers pay to subsidize phone service in rural and low-income areas. The ruling also leaves up to each provider whether and how it will provide 911 emergency calling coverage.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 03:58:05 CST
(781 reads)
Read More: FCC Blocks States From Regulating Net Phone Services
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Internet Phone Service Wins FCC Ruling |
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Internet Phone Service Wins FCC Ruling
November 10, 2004
By Rocky Scott
A Federal Communications Commission decision Tuesday barring states from regulating Internet telephone service drew quick praise from a company offering the service, Sprint officials and the Florida Public Service Commission.
"We're certainly pleased with the result," said Chris Murray, director of government affairs for Vonage Holdings Corp., a New Jersey company that offers voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) phone service.
Vonage sought the ruling after Minnesota state officials said they wanted to make Vonage subject to state regulations.
Vonage officials argued that, because the company was interstate in nature instead of intrastate, it should not be subject to state oversight. The FCC agreed with Vonage.
The ruling means Vonage and other companies that offer VoIP will have more flexibility, less state regulatory interference and can respond quickly to customers needs and demands, said Murray.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 03:55:39 CST
(831 reads)
Read More: Internet Phone Service Wins FCC Ruling
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FCC Ruling Limits States' Jurisdiction |
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Internet Phone Service Boosted; FCC Ruling Limits States' Jurisdiction
November 10, 2004
By Marilyn Geewax
Washington --- Federal regulators ruled Tuesday that states have limited jurisdiction over Internet-based phone service, a decision that could spark a rush to offer consumers and businesses the high-tech, low-cost option.
The Federal Communications Commission's 5-0 decision will help keep the emerging technology, known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, relatively free of government oversight.
"It completely changes the ballgame," said Glenn Reynolds, vice president for federal regulatory affairs for BellSouth, one of the regional Bell companies that trace their roots back more than a century.
Such companies have long been heavily regulated by state utility commissions. Having a type of phone service that is much less regulated could create a gold-rush mentality, bringing the regional phone giants and huge cable TV companies into the business in a big way alongside small start-up companies.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 03:46:00 CST
(765 reads)
Read More: FCC Ruling Limits States' Jurisdiction
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Internet Phone Victory |
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Internet Phone Victory; FCC Says Firms Not Subject To State Regulations, Taxes
November 10, 2004
By Todd Wallack
Federal regulators sent a powerful message Tuesday to California and other states to leave the fledgling Internet telephone industry alone for now.
The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to support a request by Vonage Holdings Corp., one of the largest Internet telephone providers, to classify the technology as an interstate service, exempt from most local regulations.
The move bars California and other states from treating Vonage, Santa Clara's 8X8 Inc. and other Internet telephone providers like traditional local phone companies, such as SBC Communications and Verizon Communications, which are subject to an array of local regulations and taxes.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 03:43:19 CST
(698 reads)
Read More: Internet Phone Victory
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Copps, Adelstein Concur |
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Copps, Adelstein Concur
November 10, 2004
By Staff
Comrs. Copps and Adelstein concurred in the decision. Copps objected to dealing with the Vonage petition separately from the bigger IP proceeding. The Commission has been making too many "piecemeal" decisions rather than setting a broad framework, he said. Adelstein said he was concerned about "unintended results" of the order, including jeopardizing the universal service program. Comr. Martin said he shared concerns about the effect the order could have on pending issues such as intercarrier compensation but he didn't think that should stop the FCC from acting on the Vonage order.
Chmn. Powell responded to Copps' concerns about the limited nature of the order, saying it would be a "formula for paralysis" to defer action until all issues could be dealt with at once. Sometimes it's in consumers' interest to act on individual issues like this, he said. "Today's decision lays a jurisdictional foundation for what consumers already know -- that the Internet is global in scope," Powell said. "To subject a global network to disparate local regulatory treatment by 51 different jurisdictions would be to destroy the very qualities that embody the technological marvel that is the Internet." Powell said the action doesn't mean there's no governmental interest in VoIP: "There will remain very important questions about emergency services, consumer protections from waste, fraud and abuse and recovering the fair costs of the network. It is not true that states are or should be complete bystanders with regard to these issues." He said the order preempts a Minn. PUC decision applying its "traditional telephone company" regulations to Vonage's service, but "I emphasize that the Commission expresses no opinion here on the applicability to Vonage of the state's general laws governing entities conducting business... such as laws concerning taxation, fraud, general commercial dealings, marketing and advertising."
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 03:40:52 CST
(706 reads)
Read More: Copps, Adelstein Concur
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FCC Asserts Role As Internet Phone Regulator |
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FCC Asserts Role As Internet Phone Regulator
November 10, 2004
By Yuki Noguchi
The Federal Communications Commission said yesterday that the federal government, not states, has the authority to regulate phone service provided over the Internet.
The unanimous ruling in a case involving Vonage Holdings Corp. was a victory for companies offering local and long-distance phone service over high-speed Internet connections. It was a defeat for state utilities regulators who sought to subject the new Internet services to many of the fees and regulations they have long applied to traditional phone providers.
Companies providing Internet phone service said they had been reluctant to expand into more states until it was clear whether they would face state-by-state regulation and whether their consumers would have to pay state fees.
But the FCC's unanimous decision did not resolve the broader question of whether Internet phone services will be treated as information services or as traditional phone providers. As traditional providers, they could be required to contribute to federal universal service programs that subsidize phone service in poor and rural areas, and they could have to pay whenever they connected with the networks owned by traditional phone providers to complete calls.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 03:38:16 CST
(687 reads)
Read More: FCC Asserts Role As Internet Phone Regulator
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Vonage VoIP Service Not Subject To State Regulations |
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FCC Rules Vonage VoIP Service Not Subject To State Regulations
November 10, 2004
By Staff
In a ruling with widespread implications for the telecommunications industry, the Federal Communications Commission declared Nov. 9 that the type of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service offered by Vonage Corp. is "inherently interstate" in nature and therefore not subject to state utility regulation.
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Posted by vonage on Thursday, November 11 @ 03:35:55 CST
(2249 reads)
Read More: Vonage VoIP Service Not Subject To State Regulations
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