The Wash. Enhanced 911 Program opposed Vonage’s request that the ...

the same level of quality provided by other telecommunications providers in the State of Minnesota, and Vonage’s obligation to remit fees for 911 service,” it said in comments filed with the FCC Fri. It said the FCC should: (1) Order Vonage to pay 911 taxes and fees used to support emergency services according to the amounts required of customers of local exchange carriers in the respective local jurisdictions. “Allowing Vonage to continue to avoid paying [E911 taxes and fees] means that emergency 911 centers throughout the United States are not being compensated for the critical assistance they are providing to Vonage customers,” the organization said. (2) Declare the voice service that Vonage provides via IP to be classified as a telecom service. (3) Set criteria and timelines for Vonage and other VoIP providers to follow that will provide users with the “same or better access to 911 services as is available today from local exchange carriers.” It said the 911 community could “be at risk” if the FCC decided Vonage provided an information service: “The Commission must ask if the simple transition from one technology (circuit switched) to another (packet switched) results in the reclassification of a service. The service itself is not changing. Only the technology is changing… Technological improvement should [not] result in service reclassification,” which, it said could cause “the funding support mechanism for 911 services… shrink dramatically or evaporate completely.”