US Lawmakers Urge FCC Regulation Of VoIP
Sixty-two members of Congress, including thirty-three members of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee have written to the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) urging the telecoms regulator to "immediately declare" that
VoIP services are interstate in nature, and that the Commission therefore has
the sole authority to regulate them. The FCC is in the process of conducting a study on the regulation of the burgeoning
Voice over Internet Protocol, or internet telephony market, additionally looking
at issues such as carrier obligations relating to emergency services calls and
potential contributions that should be made by the industry to the Universal
Service Fund. In the letter to FCC chairman Michael Powell last week, the lawmakers, led
by Rep. Charles Pickering (R-MS), argued that: "VoIP is the next forward step in voice communications. As this efficient technology
grows, consumers will benefit from advanced services and reduced costs. Clearly,
VoIP is interstate in nature and thus subject to FCC jurisdiction. This letter
asks the FCC to expedite their ruling on the subject and provide jurisdictional
and regulatory clarity." Expressing support for currently stalled legislation which would exempt VoIP
services from state taxes, local regulation and carrier access charges, the
legislators continued: "It simply makes no sense to impose a collage of 52 different regulatory regimes
on a service that has an inseverable (and international) component." .
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