FCC Wants No State Strings Attached to VoIP
230497
The FCC has ruled against state regulation of voice-over-IP phone services, saying that disparate state regulations would slow their rollout.
641502
Major mobile voice and data carriers in the U.S. have pledged to open their networks to outside handsets and applications, but regulators and customers need to be vigilant to make sure those promises are fulfilled, one member of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said.
651133
Internet telephone services on  Tuesday were insulated from many state regulations by U.S.  communications officials, a boon for upstart Vonage Holdings  Corp. and others aggressively pushing the new service.
163727
Federal and state governments usually promote competition for telecom services, but some states are blocking free Wi-Fi access.
547250
Federal regulators decided yesterday that local phone companies that build fiber-optic lines to individual homes do not have to share that part of their networks with rivals.
494604
Ring, Ring. Someone answer the computer. Voice-over-Internet Protocol got a boost today as The Federal Communications Commission ruled that providers of the service are exempt from some major state regulations
467453
VoIP industry applauds ruling that says local providers can't refuse to carry calls on wholesaler-owned broadband lines.
544145
A divided Federal Communications Commission passed rules Wednesday restricting local phone competition. The move is expected to raise prices for many consumers across the country and for small businesses in larger cities.
266435
Justice Department urges FCC to deny extension request of Alltel, along with those of AT&#38;T, Sprint.
105955
MANHASSET, NY The Federal Communication Commission&#39;s decision Tuesday (Nov. 9) to classify voice-over-IP (VoIP) as an interstate, federally regulated service could go
559450
States are now barred from imposing telecommunications regulations on Net phone providers.
629887
U.S. communications regulators on Tuesday exempted Internet telephone services from certain state oversight, a boon for Vonage Holdings Corp. and other providers aggressively pushing the new service.
134184
NEW YORK  - Are cellphone companies using their sway over handset makers to unfairly limit consumers&#39; choices? Skype, a pioneer in PC-to-PC calling, thinks so, and it wants the Federal Communications Commission to do something about it.  In a blistering filing with the FCC, Skype basically accused Verizon Wireless and other big carriers of holding their customers hostage because most cellphones sold in the USA are &quot;locked,&quot; meaning you can only use applications and features sold by your carrier.
510376
(InfoWorld) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has ruled that incumbent local exchange carriers must connect to VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services, overruling two state public service commission opinions. The FCC on Thursday granted a petition from Time Warner Cable Inc., which had complained that the South Carolina and Nebraska public service commissions had allowed rural local exchange carriers to refuse access to wholesale telecom vendors connecting to Time Warner's VoIP service. The rural carriers had argued that FCC rules don't require them to connect to the wholesale vendors because they don't provide direct voice service to residents. But the FCC said that argument was a misinterpretation of its rules. The FCC "must promote competition in every sector it oversees and create a level playing field among service providers," said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, in a statement. The FCC decision "ensures that consumers in all areas of the country reap the benefits of competition in the form of lower prices, innovative services and more choice," he added. Time Warner Cable, which was using wholesale transport services from MCI, now part of Verizon Communications Inc., and Sprint Nextel Corp., filed a petition with the FCC last March. The two state commissions had ruled that the services provided by MCI and Sprint did not quality as telecommunications services, and therefore, rural incumbent local exchange carriers were not required to interconnect with them. But four other states required local carriers to connect with the wholesale vendors, Time Warner argued. The FCC, in its decision, said interconnection requirements should apply to both retail and wholesale telecom services. "A contrary decision would impede the important development of wholesale telecommunications and facilities-based VoIP competition," the FCC said in its order.
763840
In a ruling that could have implications for increasingly popular VoIP services, the FCC ruled today that a VoIP service from Vonage Holdings is not subject to the public utility regulations of individual states.
509926
The efforts of VoIP providers to keep individual states from regulating their services received another boost Tuesday, when an appeals court agreed with a lower court decision that ruled VoIP
266155
InfoWorld - Major mobile voice and data carriers in the United States have pledged to open their networks to outside handsets and applications, but regulators and customers need to be vigilant to make sure those promises are fulfilled, one member of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said.