The FCC will levy regulatory fees on VoIP providers starting this...
The FCC will levy regulatory fees on VoIP providers starting this year, it said in an order issued Monday. The FCC said earlier this year it was inclined to seek fees from VoIP companies. Now that they have to…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
pay into the Universal Service Fund, paying regulatory fees was a natural extension, the commission said. The FCC said Section 9 of the Communications Act gives the commission authority to impose regulatory fees on VoIP providers. The commission disagreed with the VON Coalition’s argument that the FCC can impose regulatory fees only “on entities subject to licensing or certification requirements.” To the contrary, “to construe section 9 as narrowly as the VON Coalition proposes would prohibit the Commission from recovering costs from providers that impose costs on the Commission,” said the order. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said in a concurring statement he thinks a broad rulemaking should be opened to address possible adjustments in the way regulatory fees are collected. “In a rapidly-evolving communications marketplace, we need to look for ways to ensure that our regulatory fee methodologies continue to reflect the industries we regulate,” Copps said.