Telecommunications
Industry Association: "We are very encouraged that the
commission is moving ahead to bring some clarity to the
regulatory uncertainty surrounding VoIP and IP applications in
general. The NPRM will be an important step in the process of
defining what we believe should be a light-handed regulatory
framework for IP applications such as voice, one that recognizes
that you cannot simply impose the legacy rules for
circuit-switch telephony on the IP world. Moreover, the FCC's
action on the Pulver.com petition brings a sense of confidence
that neither the federal nor state governments are going to be
in the business of regulating the dynamic Internet application
space," said Matthew J. Flanigan, President of the
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).
CompTel/ASCENT
Alliance: "We remain concerned that the FCC may take
too narrow a focus on technology itself without closely
examining the broader ramifications of their policy decisions...
Moreover, we urge the FCC to be mindful that competitive
carriers should continue to have access to last-mile bottleneck
facilities no matter what the technology that is used to deliver
services to consumers," said H. Russell Frisby Jr., CEO of the
CompTel/ASCENT Alliance, an industry group that represents the
competitive telecommunications industry.
SBC
Communications: Edward E. Whitacre, Jr., Chairman and
CEO of SBC, applauded the FCC ruling saying that a nationwide
policy framework is consistent with SBC's call for minimalist
regulation for VoIP and other IP platform services. However, he
said the FCC action "has nothing to do with the AT&T
access charge avoidance scheme, and we're gratified the FCC did
not include AT&T's petition in its upcoming rule making
proceeding."
Raindance:
"While today's decision is certainly a defining moment in
the future of IP communications, the true test still remains to
be seen. We would advocate that the same policies put forth
today also hold true for all VoIP services that interconnect
with traditional telephone systems," said Don Detampel,
President and CEO of Raindance, which provides integrated web
and audio conferencing services.
