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CWA: VoIP Technology Must Meet Public Interest Obligations
Washington, D.C. -- The Communications Workers of America called on the Senate Commerce Committee to ensure that new Internet communications services such as Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) and other IP-enabled services support the public interest and public safety, just as all the country's voice communications systems have been required to do.
In a letter to Committee Chairman John McCain, CWA President Morton Bahr called on senators to oppose S. 2281, the VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004, because it fails to require VoIP carriers to meet these critical obligations. The committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on Thursday, July 22.
"VoIP and other IP-enabled services open up exciting new possibilities in the way we communicate with each other," Bahr wrote, noting that the growth of this technology will stimulate demand for access to high-bandwidth Internet networks, demand that will jumpstart the economy's telecommunications and information sectors.
Clearly, voice communication over the Internet is a telecommunications service, and not an information service, Bahr wrote. Therefore, VoIP carriers must support the public interest by contributing to universal service, adhering to public safety requirements such as E911, providing access for people with disabilities and meeting the requirements of our communications systems that all voice providers must follow, he said.
In addition, since VoIP carriers benefit from the ability to connect their customers to every other customer, they must contribute to the support of that network, he said.
"At the same time, CWA recognizes that VoIP is an emerging technology market in which no VoIP carrier possesses economic power to control rates, terms or conditions of service. Therefore, VoIP carriers should not be subject to rate regulation at this time, although there should be a market entry and exit registration process," Bahr wrote.
CWA also called for limited state jurisdiction over VoIP, including consumer protection authority.
To view the letter, click here [Acrobat 95K].
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In a letter to Committee Chairman John McCain, CWA President Morton Bahr called on senators to oppose S. 2281, the VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004, because it fails to require VoIP carriers to meet these critical obligations. The committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on Thursday, July 22.
"VoIP and other IP-enabled services open up exciting new possibilities in the way we communicate with each other," Bahr wrote, noting that the growth of this technology will stimulate demand for access to high-bandwidth Internet networks, demand that will jumpstart the economy's telecommunications and information sectors.
Clearly, voice communication over the Internet is a telecommunications service, and not an information service, Bahr wrote. Therefore, VoIP carriers must support the public interest by contributing to universal service, adhering to public safety requirements such as E911, providing access for people with disabilities and meeting the requirements of our communications systems that all voice providers must follow, he said.
In addition, since VoIP carriers benefit from the ability to connect their customers to every other customer, they must contribute to the support of that network, he said.
"At the same time, CWA recognizes that VoIP is an emerging technology market in which no VoIP carrier possesses economic power to control rates, terms or conditions of service. Therefore, VoIP carriers should not be subject to rate regulation at this time, although there should be a market entry and exit registration process," Bahr wrote.
CWA also called for limited state jurisdiction over VoIP, including consumer protection authority.
To view the letter, click here [Acrobat 95K].
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