US Lawmakers Call For Light Touch Regulation Of VoIP

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

06 April 2004

Speaking to journalists last Friday, Senator John Sununu (R-N.H.) and Congressman Chip Pickering (R-Miss) announced their intention to introduce new legislation designed to ensure that the burgeoning US Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sector is not stifled by heavy-handed regulation.

Explaining the reasoning behind the move, Senator Sununu observed that:

"The laws that are on the books right now really don't deal in a clear way with VoIP technology. What we have done is try to craft an approach that gives a clear framework for federal oversight of VoIP. It pre-empts heavy-handed state regulation and it even limits the FCC's role at this particular time."

According to the two lawmakers, the planned legislation aims to prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from delegating authority for the regulation of VoIP to state and local authorities, and to exempt the emerging technology from the FCC's access charge regime, whereby fees must be paid to incumbent carriers for the use of their systems.

"Congress must establish federal authority in this area, provide direction for any action by the FCC and preclude individual states and jurisdictions from regulating VoIP," Sununu told a news conference last week, adding:

"Unfortunately, some interests would like to impose an outdated and stifling regulatory framework on this service, rather than allow VoIP to continue to expand freely."

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