The Minn. PUC ruled that the voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) ...
The Minn. PUC ruled that the voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) communications service of Vonage Holdings was a telephone service as defined by Minn. law. That finding (Case P-6214/C-03-108) means Vonage must obtain a PUC certificate, file tariffs and submit a…
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plan to provide 911. The PUC was responding to a complaint by the Minn. Dept. of Commerce alleging Vonage was providing phone service without a state certificate or providing 911. Vonage had argued that its VoIP service was an unregulated information service that was not subject to state telecom regulation. The Minn. PUC staff said that from the perspective of a phone user, there was no difference between the service of Vonage and that of a phone company. The staff said Vonage advertised its offering as replacing a customer’s current phone provider and that state law defined phone service as being 2-way communications such as Vonage provided. The PUC didn’t address issues raised by some parties about the effects on universal service and intercarrier compensation if VoIP were ruled to be a phone service. The ruling simply established that the PUC had jurisdiction over Vonage because it was providing telephone service under Minn. law. The PUC gave Vonage 30 days from official publication of the order to comply.