FCC Rules Against AT&T Over Internet Calls

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

23 April 2004

Attempts by telecommunications provider, AT&T to avoid paying fees to regional phone networks by routing some of its calls over the internet were scuppered by the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday.

AT&T in October 2002 argued that it should not have to pay fees to the former "Bell" companies for completing long distance calls made over the internet, but to conventional phones.

However, ruling on Wednesday, the FCC unanimously agreed that the service provided by AT&T was "the same plain old telephone service", rather than the currently more lightly regulated Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.

According to an Associated Press report published following delivery of the FCC verdict, AT&T's general counsel, Jim Cicconi condemned the regulator for what he suggested represented a betrayal of its pledge to protect investment in new technologies.

"Despite such explicit statements, the FCC today did a stunning about face and chose instead to protect the monopoly revenues of the Bell companies at the expense of consumers everywhere. This sends an ominous signal as the FCC prepares to tackle even more critical questions that will either spur internet telephony, or stifle it in order to favor four monopoly phone companies," the AP quoted him as observing on Wednesday.

Recommended