CHICAGO -- VoIP guru Jeff Pulver will file a petition for reconsideration challenging an FCC order giving all VoIP operators 120 days to make 911 service available to customers. Pulver told a Supercomm dinner here Wed. night the order misunderstands the changing nature of communications and the business models made possible by VoIP.

Regulators attending Supercomm seemed to have 2 things to say about the show floor: (1) It was far more active with new products and ideas than in the past, offering proof that there was an industry turnaround. (2) The new products were cool. FCC Chmn. Martin said he was “struck by how much it has changed from the first time I was here [4 years ago], when it was focused on the back office. Today it feels more like CES.” He said he saw a lot of video deployment and got the indication “this is a very exciting time.” Martin also raved about a Motorola product that enabled seamless transfer between a wireless LAN and cell phone. Comr. Abernathy said during a panel discussion that 4 years ago a lot of investment had pulled back and “people were down.” She said: “Now it’s fun again.” Speaking on the same panel, Cal. PUC Comr. Susan Kennedy said she got a “sense of maturity” viewing IP products on the show floor. There are now high-tech products that “are on the verge of being really useful in my house,” she said.

CHICAGO -- FCC Chmn. Martin said Tues. the Commission may hold more hearings like the one it held before voting last month on E-911 capability for VoIP customers. Customers harmed by the inability to reach 911 dispatchers testified at the meeting where the vote was taken. In a Q-&-A session with USTA Pres. Walter McCormick and TIA Pres. Matthew Flanigan at the Supercomm show, Martin also said his top priority is to make sure FCC actions encourage broadband deployment and “create a level playing field for providers who are starting to converge.” Another priority is “identifying spectrum” and making sure it’s provided flexibly, he said. Asked about the policy debate over local franchising of wireline-provided IP video, Martin said he’s “sympathetic with the concerns” about “local franchising requirements becoming a barrier” to new video entrants. “It’s important to recognize the benefits of additional competitors,” he said. Martin also said the FCC has decided the high-cost universal service fund doesn’t violate the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA), which didn’t get much publicity. Concerns about the ADA’s impact on the E- rate program led late last year to emergency legislation by Congress.

The 120-day deadline for VoIP providers to offer E- 911 capability begins 30 days after the FCC’s order is published in the Federal Register (CD June 6 p1).

Verizon urged the Cal. PUC to adopt a new regulatory framework for major telecom carriers that would do away with most existing retail price regulation. In comments filed in the PUC’s current rulemaking to reform its regulation of large carriers, Verizon suggested the PUC deregulate rates for retail services other than single- line residential and business basic exchange, Lifeline and 911. All other retail services would be priced to market, and would move as market conditions dictate. Basic exchange, Lifeline and 911 would remain under nonindexed price caps. Verizon urged that the same regulatory regime apply across the board to providers of local service, regardless of whether the service is delivered over conventional wireline, or via wireless, VoIP, cable or other technologies. Verizon’s proposal addressed only price deregulation, and didn’t propose changes to existing service quality regulations and administrative requirements. Verizon said today’s framework was devised 16 years ago, when wireline was the only widespread technology and competition wasn’t a significant factor. Verizon said it’s time the state adopted a new framework that would let competitive market forces work, which would promote investment and innovation by all providers.

Me. Gov. John Baldacci (D) signed 3 telecom bills. SB-439 will hike the gross receipts surcharge that supports the state E-rate program to 0.6% from 0.5%. The new law also requires a temporary rise to 0.8% for the next 2 fiscal years. HB-982 tells the PUC to study how it can get prepaid wireless services to contribute to E-911 service. The PUC is to report findings and recommendations to the legislature by Feb. 2006. The bill originally would have imposed a fee for each month a prepaid wireless account was active, but the legislature changed it into a study bill. SB-594 calls for the PUC to create a panel of 911 dispatch center representatives and the Me. Deafness Center to study ways to ensure the E-911 system can handle calls from deaf and speech-impaired people. The panel will report its findings to the legislature in Jan. 2006.

The FCC released its E-911 order Fri., giving more details about its decision to require VoIP providers to give customers full emergency calling capabilities within 120 days (CD May 20 p1). The agency told VoIP providers and ILECs it will “closely monitor” industry efforts to bring full E-911 capability to VoIP customers. It also called for comments on ways to bring E-911 capability to portable VoIP customers.

Growing convergence of communications services is pushing FCC bureaus to coordinate more closely, FCC officials said. Speaking at the Broadband Policy Summit Thurs. in Washington, Matthew Brill, aide to FCC Comr. Abernathy, said: “The FCC did a good job in creating Task Forces to cut across the Bureaus and integrate [their] expertise.” The result is a “balanced” approach to rulemakings, he added.

Vonage asked the FCC to expedite its request to get telephone numbers directly from the numbering administrator, saying the FCC’s E-911 order adds “new urgency” to the request. Vonage said it asked for direct number assignments on March 4 because it wants to “explore alternative means of interconnection with the public switched telephone network (PSTN).” Since then, 2 “critical events” have made the request more urgent, Vonage said in a May 26 filing: (1) The FCC’s order requiring VoIP providers to provide full E-911 functionality in 120 days. (2) A BellSouth letter saying for E-911 calls routed over BellSouth’s network, Vonage is responsible for assigning “pseudo-Automatic Number Identification” (pANI) from its own pool of numbers. These pANI codes are non-dialable phone numbers used, generally by wireless carriers, to route calls to 911 emergency centers when a caller’s telephone number isn’t “native” to the geographic area the emergency center serves. Vonage said it needs “this same capability to provide E-911 functionality, including [ANI], for VoIP users with non-native telephone numbers.” Vonage also asked the FCC to modify conditions imposed when it gave SBC Internet Services similar numbering relief in Feb.

Correction: A Senate aide quoted in a story about E- 911 requirements works for Sen. Nelson (D-Fla.) (CD May 25 p5).