Nebraska isn’t trying to place common-carrier controls on VoIP pr...
Nebraska isn’t trying to place common-carrier controls on VoIP providers by demanding they pay into the state universal service program, a Public Service Commission representative said Wednesday on an FCBA-sponsored panel. “This is not about regulation; it’s about contributions,”…
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said Jeff Pursley, director of the PSC Telecommunications Infrastructure and Public Safety Department. Vonage has sued the PSC for requiring it to pay into the state fund, citing an FCC order that put VoIP under federal regulation. The suit focuses on a potentially serious problem, said Jim Kohlenberger, executive director of the Voice on the Net Coalition. To put Vonage under a payment requirement, the state had to classify it a telecom carrier, a description that could open the door to “a panoply” of common-carrier regulations, Kohlenberger said. The FCC could help by answering lingering questions about the extent of federal jurisdiction over VoIP, he said. Verizon last year asked the FCC to clarify that federal jurisdiction applies to all VoIP services, Kohlenberger said. “The debate should be how to grow [new technology] rather than put it in boxes,” he said. Pursley said he agreed with Kohlenberger’s call for clarification. The state doesn’t want to “do anything to derail” the FCC’s national regulatory scheme,” he said. The event was held during the NARUC meeting.