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 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 FCC asked for comments on proposed changes to the list of services eligible for E-rate discounts. Changes are recommended annually by the Universal Service Administrative Company. Among this year’s batch is a proposal to treat Centrex service as basic telephone service, which would eliminate the requirement that applicants file a technology plan to get reimbursed for it. Another proposed change would clarify which components of a Web hosting service are eligible for funding. Comments are due Aug. 10, replies Aug. 17.

The FCC asked for comments on proposed changes to the list of services eligible for E-rate discounts. Changes are recommended annually by the Universal Service Administrative Company. Among this year’s batch is a proposal to treat Centrex service as basic telephone service, which would eliminate the requirement that applicants file a technology plan to get reimbursed for it. Another proposed change would clarify which components of a Web hosting service are eligible for funding. Comments are due Aug. 10, replies Aug. 17.

STANFORD, Calif. -- The federal official who catalyzed a movement to redo the Internet’s architecture from scratch is due Wednesday to start running a Stanford University program supported by a growing roster of international heavyweights including Cisco, Deutsche Telekom and NTT DoCoMo, the project’s founder said. Guru Parulkar has left the National Science Foundation, where he was the prime mover behind financing the creation of a testbed to try out platform technologies tailored to the 21st century Internet, said Nick McKeown, a Stanford University professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

The Missouri Public Service Commission gave Davidson Telecom until Aug. 23 to explain why it hasn’t made required contributions to the state universal service fund and relay service fund since spring 2005. If Davidson has no satisfactory answer the competitive carrier, which provides interexchange, local private line and payphone services, risks a civil suit by the PSC to recover the funds.

The FCC denied a Core Communications forbearance proposal that sought to revamp intercarrier compensation. Core had asked the commission to refrain from enforcing Sec. 251(g) of the Telecom Act, which effectively would have replaced access charges with reciprocal compensation. The company also asked the FCC to forbear from enforcing the rate averaging and integration requirements in Sec. 254(g). The Bells and rural incumbents said in 2006 comments that this wouldn’t work and probably would increase demands on the Universal Service Fund. The FCC said the petition was denied because it didn’t meet “statutory forbearance criteria.” Forbearance is granted only if a proposal meets three “prongs,” the agency said in an order issued late Thursday. Proponents must prove: (1) The targeted regulation is “not necessary” to ensure a carrier’s charges and practices are “just and reasonable.” (2) The regulation isn’t needed to guard consumers. (3) Forbearance won’t hurt the public interest. The Core petition meets none of those requirements, the FCC said. “If the Commission were to forbear from the rate regulation preserved by section 251(g), there would be no rate regulation governing the exchange of traffic currently subject to the access charge regime,” the order said. “The record suggests that many LECs (local exchange carriers) depend on access revenues to maintain affordable rates and service quality to consumers, especially in rural areas… We find that the requested forbearance would not result in a unified intercarrier regime… and instead would result in the absence of rate regulation for access charges.”

The push to institutionalize a moratorium on Internet access taxes found strong support Thursday among leaders at the House Judiciary Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee. The path to that support was eased by general agreement between state tax officials and the telecom industry on contentious definitions of “access,” interpreted by some to include Internet transport gear and applications and services delivered over the Internet not essential to the connection itself.

The push to make permanent a moratorium on Internet access taxes found strong support Thursday among leaders at the House Judiciary Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee. Gaining their support was eased by general agreement between state tax officials and the telecom industry on contentious definitions of “access,” which some have interpreted to include Internet transport equipment and applications and services delivered over the Internet that are not essential the connection itself.

The possible need to seek a rewrite of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s federal mandate is among issues CPB grapples with as it addresses an inspector general recommendation on “objectivity and balance” in public broadcasting programming. Objectivity and balance was the topic of an April meeting at with some CPB board members and management officials met with deans of five journalism schools.

The Arkansas Public Service Commission ruled that national problems stemming from the ballooning federal high- cost fund do not justify denying eligible telecom carrier (ETC) applications by applicants meeting federal and state statutory requirements. The PSC (Case 07-028-U) approved Alltel’s application for wireless ETC status, qualifying it for universal service subsidies for local service in areas incumbents Windstream and CenturyTel serve. The incumbents wanted the PSC to hold off ruling on Alltel’s application until the FCC rules on universal service fund reform. They said granting more ETC applications now would exacerbate high-cost fund problems the entire telecom industry recognizes. Alltel said the federal fund’s problems are a matter for U.S. authorities, not the Arkansas PSC. It said the only question facing the state is whether Alltel qualifies as an ETC under current criteria. The PSC decided Alltel meets statutory requirements and noted that no party suggested it doesn’t. The PSC said Alltel’s application made clear its commitment to operate throughout the incumbents’ territories, and said its presence will provide more choice for customers and a mobility option for households qualifying for Lifeline and Link-Up subsidies.