U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) published a scathing letter calling on FCC Chairman Michael Powell to explain whether the agency's access charge rules apply to long-distance calls carried over the Internet. Tauzin noted that more than 15 months had elapsed since AT&T filed a petition asking the FCC whether access charges apply to long-distance voice calls that AT&T transports over its IP backbone. The FCC has not yet answered the petition. The Congressional leader said he was not asking whether the FCC was planning to develop new access rules in the future, but simply whether access charges for VoIP apply today under the FCC's existing rules. He expressed concern that the FCC's "continued failure to clarify the rules governing traffic over AT&T's IP backbone could jeopardize our ability to keep telephone rates in rural areas affordable."http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Letters/01292004_1197.htm
- In January,
Level 3 Communications filed a petition asking the FCC to
reaffirm that legacy switched access charges do not apply to
VoIP. Under current rules, VoIP is generally classified as
an "information service." As such, it is exempted
from the access charges imposed on traditional long distance
telecommunications services. Some industry participants have
argued that access charges should be imposed on VoIP traffic
when traffic is exchanged between carriers. Level 3
maintains that such a move would be ill conceived and not in
the public interest. However, Level 3's petition would, if
granted, maintain the current access charge regime for rural
carriers.
- In December 2003, FCC held its first public VoIP forum. http://www.convergedigest.com/regulatory/regulatoryarticle.asp?ID=9551
