ABERNATHY: SOME VoIP REGULATION WILL BE NEEDED
E. LANSING, Mich. -- FCC Comr. Kathleen Abernathy told a Mich. State U. audience some regulation of VoIP service will be necessary, but she advocated a “light touch” through “rules that are narrowly tailored to achieve specific public policies.” She said the light regulatory approach taken with wireless services enabled wireless to thrive and suggested a similar minimalist approach toward VoIP might enable this service to thrive.
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Abernathy, speaking at a VoIP panel sponsored by MSU’s Quello Center and the Institute of Public Utilities, said VoIP that uses end-to-end Internet protocol clearly was an unregulated information service. But she said the question of regulation arises when VoIP must interact with the public switched telephone network to complete calls. She said rate and service-quality regulation wasn’t appropriate for VoIP: “We can’t reflexively apply legacy regulation to this new technology.” She said regulation must focus on public interest concerns, including universal service support, intercarrier compensation, 911 interfaces, law enforcement needs, disabled consumer access and other consumer protection concerns. She said keeping VoIP completely unregulated could create damaging artificial arbitrage opportunities: “VoIP is inherently interstate… because it’s impossible to tell where a VoIP call goes. This service doesn’t recognize state lines.” But she said the FCC would work with state and local govts. to address the public interest concerns all levels of government share.
Abernathy also said policy-makers “can’t focus on VoIP alone, but also must consider the broadband network that underlies VoIP service.” It’s critical for the FCC to continue encouraging broadband infrastructure deployment, she said: “We hope that VoIP will be the ‘killer application’ for broadband deployment.” She said there were 14 million cable modem customers and 8 million DSL subscribers, but forced sharing of the existing broadband lines would discourage broadband investment: “We believe new broadband platforms such as wireless, satellite and power line will encourage more robust competition and allow less regulation.” She said the FCC must address remaining broadband deployment barriers, including local right-of-way obstacles, through continued work with state and local govts.: “As broadband grows, VoIP is set to take off, with most telecom to be IP- based in the future.”
Other panelists said a major regulatory issue for VoIP service was parity among VoIP and circuit-switched service providers on universal service, 911 and other public policy obligations imposed on telecom providers. Robin Gleason, SBC regional regulatory affairs vp, called this the “key policy challenge” for regulators. She said traditional solutions to these obligations might not be appropriate for the VoIP era. Richard Wolfe, Comcast midwest regulatory affairs dir., said all voice service providers, regardless of technology, should have similar rights and responsibilities regarding public policy obligations, but otherwise regulators should keep their hands off VoIP. Wayne Fonteix, AT&T Midwest regulatory affairs dir., said any handoff of VoIP calls to the public switched telephone network should incur intercarrier compensation charges, “but the central question is how much those charges should be.” He said the universal service issues would be greatly simplified if contributions were based on phone numbers: “If you use a 10-digit phone number, you are obligated to pay.” He said the circuit-switched phone network would be with us for many years, but said VoIP was “the PacMan that will eat the telecom world.”