Comcast, Big Telcos Protest Proposed VoIP Decision in Vermont
Saying VoIP is an information service under federal law, Comcast sought oral argument on a Vermont Public Service Board-proposed decision defining it as a telecom service. PSB staff recommended the finding last month in a proposed decision in docket 7316…
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(see 1612130060). In Jan. 20 comments we obtained Wednesday, Comcast urged the board to reject the proposal because it makes factual findings that are irrelevant or unsupported by the record and includes legal analysis that disregards FCC and federal court precedent. “Beyond the legal and factual errors and omissions in the PFD [proposal for decision], Comcast also reiterates that the proposed decision remains wholly unnecessary,” the company said. “The matters at issue in this docket have now been under consideration for over nine and a half years, during which time the Board has not exercised regulatory authority over the terms and conditions of Comcast's VoIP service. Throughout this time, the FCC has applied nationally uniform, light-touch regulation to interconnected VoIP providers, and there has been no showing that the lack of further regulation by the Board has resulted in any adverse consequences to consumers.” AT&T, Verizon and the Voice on the Net Coalition supported Comcast in joint comments: “The Proposal conflicts with federal court decisions that squarely and correctly hold that VoIP services such as XFINITY Voice are information services under federal law because, among other things, they offer the capability for net protocol conversions.” The phone and VoIP companies cited a 2008 decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Southwestern Bell v. Missouri Public Service Commission) and a 2010 decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Paetec v. CommPartners). “FCC decisions make clear that ownership and control of that device are irrelevant to the question whether that VoIP service offers the capability for a net protocol conversion and, therefore, is an information service,” they said. But eight independent RLECs said they strongly support the PFD because it "will create the potential for a more level playing field in the regulatory treatment of materially identical voice service.” Customers see no difference between voice services provided by legacy and VoIP technologies, the RLECs said. “The current regulatory mismatch between those services impedes the efficient operation of the competitive marketplace, which would be addressed in significant measure by the Board's adoption of the PFD.” The Vermont Department of Public Service and Green Mountain Power separately supported the proposed decision without additional comment.