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Number of results 14 for FCC

15/11/2011 - Proposed VoIP outage reporting would cost operators 'hundreds of million of dollars'

A proposal by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau mandating VoIP outage reporting requirements is drawing fire from cable and telephone trade organizations, which contend the new requirements "significant economic burdens" on ISPs and other VoIP providers.

The current outage reporting regulations apply only to wireline phone service.

But as phone companies continue to transition to voice-over-internet calling and as cable companies and other VoIP providers become more popular, the FCC is looking for ways to regulate the new technology.

The American Cable Association, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, CTIA-The Wireless Association and other associations last week met with FCC representatives to discuss the proposed requirements, suggesting reporting be voluntary and the "the technical realities of broadband networks" be taken into consideration.

The groups said "broadband service providers and VoIP providers do not routinely monitor network performance at the level of granularity that would be required by the rules proposed in the notice, and it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars for the industry to implement such a regime, costs that will ultimately have an impact on consumers."

The FCC voted unanimously last May to propose requiring the outage reporting, although Republican commissioner Robert McDowell concurred in part, saying he had issues with the FCC's authority to support the proposed regulation.

For more:
- see this MCN article

12/08/2010 - States looking to collect revenue on VoIP service

With the economy affecting all segments of society, state governments have found themselves scrounging for new places to bring in revenue. Once again the threat of fees on VoIP service has reared its ugly head.

The Nebraska and Kansas utility commissions have petitioned the FCC to rule on whether states can collect universal service fees (USF) from VoIP service providers. Two representatives Joe Barton (R-Tex.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) have rushed to the VoIP world's aid and have called for the FCC to not allow states to collect such fees. The legislators have asked the FCC that if they were to pursue this at all, they should issue a rulemaking proposal to collect comments.

For more:
- read the report

08/03/2010 - National Broadband Plan in trouble?

Ars Technica has a story about how the National Broadband Plan is getting dumped on. Look out towards the bottom for some tidbits on how the plan might benefit small VoIP providers... Article

04/01/2010 - AT&T to FCC - Kill the PSTN

AT&T has an answer to the FCC's questions about moving to an all-IP network: Kill the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and do it sooner rather than later so we can get on with it.

AT&T has asked the FCC to set a firm deadline much like the deadline given to television broadcasters to switch from analog to digital transmission so that telephone companies can stop supporting legacy voice systems and focus their efforts on building and supporting the new IP network. Since VoIP was the industry of the decade, this latest move could truly spell the end for Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).

AT&T's language did not mince words: "with each passing day, more and more communications services migrate to broadband and IP-based services, leaving the PSTN and POTS as relics of a by-gone era." Ouch. Looks like what's next for IP-communications is that the VoIP industry will be the voice provider of the very near future.

For more:
- read this article from PCWorld

03/12/2009 - FCC looking to an all IP communications future

Strong words coming from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski: "USF is a multibillion-dollar annual fund that continues to support yesterday’s communications infrastructure." So what is he planning to shift the Universal Service Fund's billion dollar budget towards? VoIP, of course. Well that and all other forms of IP communications.

The PSTN may be here for a long time, but the FCC wants to push out broadband communications into those last miles so that no one is left behind. In a notice to the industry asking for feedback on how to lay the regulatory groundwork for an all-IP communications network, the FCC has made it clear that one day our communications will be all IP.

The notice compared the process to switching from analog cell phone service to digital and from analog TV to digital. GigaOM muses that the transition to IP communications will be much more disruptive than these examples. Claiming that the fate of copper is limited, GigaOM sees FCC cutoff dates and a scramble to update older households to ensure access to IP-based calling.

The FCC said it will use industry comments to create an official Notice of Inquiry (NOI) and then develop that into government policy under the Broadband Stimulus bill.

For more:
- FierceTelecom has more here
- read this GigaOM blog post

Related articles
FCC wants to refocus USF on broadband access
Spain, Finland develop universal broadband plans
Congress targets VoIP again in USF bill
VoIP wins exemption from USF in Nebraska
Another USF option for VoIP carriers
Skype: Mr. Silverman goes to Washington

21/10/2009 - Speakeasy looks for a piece of iPhone action

Speakeasy, a Seattle-based VoIP company that took a tip from Google Voice and warned of blocking numbers on its VoIP service, is now taking a tip from Skype and Vonage with their recent mobile plays. Of course, they've put their own interesting spin on it as well. To wit, Speakeasy has launched an iPhone application called EasyVoice Mobile that is aimed at allowing users to make free international calls on the popular handset. The application uses Speakeasy's VoIP and remote office functions to allow calling to 22 countries for free.

The calling app is only available to Speakeasy Business customers (so 'free' when you pay for other services) but it allows those customers to make free calls from their iPhone as well as answer calls directed at their office phone. In addition, customers can check office voicemail and make calls that look as though they are being made from their office phone. The application allows users to have one number that can be answered at the office and on the go without having to give out a private mobile number. Such an application sounds perfect for the 4-Hour-Work-Weeker who doesn't want to tip anyone off that he's doing business from the beach and not from the office.

For more:
- read the release

07/10/2009 - AT&T Enables VoIP over Its 3G Network for iPhone

After “evaluating customers’ expectations and use of the iPhone compared to dozens of others AT&T offers,” the operator has finally taken the steps necessary so that Apple can enable VoIP applications on iPhone to run on AT&T’s wireless network.

Previously, VoIP applications on iPhone were enabled only for Wi-Fi connectivity. At the same time, AT&T has offered a variety of other wireless devices that enable VoIP applications on 3G, 2G and Wi-Fi networks.

28/09/2009 - AT&T and Google spar over Google Voice

AT&T has sent a letter to the FCC urging a probe of the Google Voice services, saying Google's unified calling platform has an unfair advantage by refusing to terminate certain calls to rural areas, a practice the FCC has banned for telecom service providers. AT&T also argues that Google's service is violating the net neutrality provisions the FCC has passed down.

Google responded to the allegations of unfair competition with a post Friday on its Public Policy blog, where it claimed the Google Voice service was a web application, and is not intended to be a replacement for traditional phone service. Google claimed that since the Google Voice service requires an existing phone service to operate, it's not even competing to replace traditional phone services, as AT&T alleged. Google said it thinks AT&T is attempting to use this issue to undermine Web-based competition and innovation.

This issue is likely to take some time for the FCC to resolve, as the rejection and battle over the Google Voice iPhone App has. Whatever the commission rules on the matter, however, could have significant impact on VoIP providers and their relationship with traditional carriers.

For more:
- see the PC World article on the battle between AT&T and Google here
- see Google's response on its Public Policy blog here
- see Gary Kim's post on TMC about the implications of the case here

10/09/2009 - Google Voice steps on carriers' SMS turf

Google Voice rolled out some interesting integrations and features this week, in its continuing attempt to take on other VoIP services and wireless carriers in a completely non-evil way. The main upgrade, the ability to forward inbound text messages to email, adds to the voicemail transcription functionality so that now, all mobile communications can be delivered to the inbox through the Google Voice service. What's more, once an SMS message is inbox, Google Voice provides the ability to reply to that message directly from an email.

Cue the carrier aggression, stage left. (Oh wait, they don't want more FCC hassles, right? And they didn't have anything to do with removing the GVoice app, right?)

In addition to the SMS upgrade, Google Voice users can now access an audio file of their voicemails within the Gmail viewing window, where previously it would open the file in a pop out window. CNET's Rafe Needleman displays screenshots of frankly terrible Google Voice voicemail transcriptions as evidence of how useful the in-window audio access can be.

For more:
- see the Google Voice blog post on the SMS upgrade here

24/08/2009 - Google says it's not to blame for lack of Skype on Android

There is no Skype application currently available for Android phone users, but on Friday, Google said in a statement that's not its problem. While Skype has its Skype Lite client available for use on Android devices, a full Skype application is not currently available, meaning Skype Lite users still employ cellular minutes to make calls instead of VoIP. Google said the latest Android SDK release supports full VoIP applications, but none have been submitted for review yet, according to a post on the company's public policy blog made by Andy Rubin, vice president of mobile platforms.

A USA Today article about the lack of Skype for Android also mentioned the irony of Google's actions with Skype in light of its ongoing spat with AT&T and Apple over the removal of the Google Voice application from the Apple iPhone App Store. Google was asked by the FCC to submit clarification about its application review and approval process as its probe into the Google Voice removal.

For more:
- see the USA Today article here
- see PC Magazine's coverage here

24/08/2009 - Apple Explains the Removal of Google Voice from App Store

Not long after Apple removed the official Google Voice application and any other applications that use Google Voice functionality from its iPhone App Store, the Federal Communications Commission has asked both Apple and AT&T to clarify the reasons of the removal.

The companies just answered FCC and published their statements.

A bit surprisingly, Apple stated that the company has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it.

24/07/2009 - Argentine companies, regulators squabble over VoIP access

A battle is brewing over rights to provision VoIP services in Argentina. Argentina's Communications Secretariat, the country's FCC agency, revoked a request by Cablevision (no relation to the U.S. MSO) to provide VoIP services on its network, just one week after it approved the same proposal.

The rejection came after fierce lobbying to stymie Cablevision's efforts by incumbent telcos Telefonica de Argentina and Telecom Argentina, according to the Wall Street Journal. Cablevision responded with sharp criticism of the reversal, saying stopping its VoIP plans would decrease competition in Argentina's telecommunications market.

Adding to the intrigue of the story, former Argentine president Nelson Kirchner, husband of current president Cristina Fernandez, publicly denounced Cablevision's parent company Grupo Clarin recently after anti-government articles ran in one of the conglomerate's newspapers. Kirchner is believed to be very involved in Argentina's economic matters such as this one, according to the Wall Street Journal, and it's not beyond doubt that influence was exerted in the Secretariat's reversal.

There is serious revenue at stake in VoIP services in Argentina; Signals Telecom Consulting predicted in May that the Argentine VoIP market would exceed $1 billion by 2014.

For more:
- see the Wall Street Journal article here

16/02/2009 - Pulver's wishes for the new FCC administration

Ruminating at the DLD (Digital, Life, Design) Conference held in Munich, Germany, purple pundit Jeff Pulver is caught on tape (video, to be more precise) rehashing his blog skirmish with outgoing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin and thinking out loud on what would like to see from the FCC under the Obama Administration.

Pulver notes that from 1996 through the end of former FCC Chairman Michael Powell's term in 2005, successive FCC administrators have encouraged and embraced the use of technology. Under Martin's leadership, innovation was "stifled" by the application of legacy rules and regulation to VoIP; specifically, the strict imposition of E911 enforcement on VoIP carriers to wireline standard with a vigor not seen for wireless carriers.

With the new administration and new FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski expected to take the helm, Pulver wants to see technology to be "Cool once again" and be a disruptive influence to the status quo. Since Pulver knows a lot of the names embedded into the Obama transition team, he expects good things, and he hopes the FCC will embrace entrepreneurs and disruptive technology, and make him "proud to be a geek" again.

For more:
- See the nearly 8 minute video over at Informilo.

17/09/2008 - Skype Questions Carriers Commitment to "Open" Networks

Christopher Libertelli, Skype's senior director of government and regulatory affairs for North America, has written a strongly-worded letter complaining that the major US wireless carriers are all talk when it comes to "open" networks.
Writing to the FCC chairman, Kevin Martin, he said that if the Commission wanted to live up to its stated goal of making open networks more accessible, it would affirm that this policy covered wireless networks.

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