Fellow list members --
As the only known member of the evil telephone company empire, I'm pledged
to keep this list up to date on the antics of the FCC. At today's open
meeting, the commission took this action, which I cite under fair use
doctrine :
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FCC rules ISP calls are interstate in nature
By NANCY WEIL
IDG News Service, 02/25/99
In a long-anticipated vote, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission today
decided that dial-up Internet calls are interstate in nature and not local.
The ruling overturns state decisions holding that dial-up calls to the
Internet are local. The decision also could mean that local phone companies
would be able to assess usage-sensitive access charges on Internet service
providers, the FCC suggested in a statement today regarding its vote.
Without the so-called "ESP Exemption," consumers might have to pay
per-minute fees for dialing into the Internet on local lines, though not all
Internet-access calls necessarily will be charged at long-distance rates.
The matter has been under discussion for months by the FCC, which ruled in
October that high-speed Internet access provided by GTE is interstate in
nature because a certain percentage of Internet traffic originates in one
state and winds up in another.
In a statement regarding the ruling, the FCC said that Commissioner Harold
Furchtgott-Roth did not participate in the vote out of protest over what he
contends was the denial of his process rights.
The five FCC commissioners have, "for at least 25 years" been allowed to put
off by one month any action set for consideration at a commission meeting.
According to the statement, FCC Chairman William Kennard denied
Furchtgott-Roth's request to push back the decision for three weeks.
Furchtgott-Roth questioned whether it is in the public interest to risk
Internet access charges, according to the statement. It added the decision
had been delayed since last month at the behest of Kennard.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What does this mean?
Too early to tell. There were a lot of new local telephone companies that
were owed a lot of money by the Bell operating companies and GTE if the
traffic was considered local in nature. (1)
This means that the new local telephone companies are probably not going to
be paid, and that Internet Service Providers *may* have to pay on a per
minute basis for access to the telephone network. The commission has now
opened a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on this matter.
There will be a rush of filings by the RBOCS (Regional Bell Operating
Companies) by 08:00 tomorrow.
I would also expect some jitters when the market bell rings later in the
day. I'll be surprised if there isn't some bloom knocked off the rose of
Yahoo.com and other Internet stocks in anticipation of the winds of change.
I'll provide shorter updates as this develops, which could take as much as a
year.
Additional info is at:
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrcc9014.html
Mark
(1) The RBOCS are estimated to owe in excess of a Billion dollars in
inter-company settlements on the state commission's previous ruling(s) of
the jurisdiction of ISP/ESP calls.
As the only known member of the evil telephone company empire, I'm pledged
to keep this list up to date on the antics of the FCC. At today's open
meeting, the commission took this action, which I cite under fair use
doctrine :
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FCC rules ISP calls are interstate in nature
By NANCY WEIL
IDG News Service, 02/25/99
In a long-anticipated vote, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission today
decided that dial-up Internet calls are interstate in nature and not local.
The ruling overturns state decisions holding that dial-up calls to the
Internet are local. The decision also could mean that local phone companies
would be able to assess usage-sensitive access charges on Internet service
providers, the FCC suggested in a statement today regarding its vote.
Without the so-called "ESP Exemption," consumers might have to pay
per-minute fees for dialing into the Internet on local lines, though not all
Internet-access calls necessarily will be charged at long-distance rates.
The matter has been under discussion for months by the FCC, which ruled in
October that high-speed Internet access provided by GTE is interstate in
nature because a certain percentage of Internet traffic originates in one
state and winds up in another.
In a statement regarding the ruling, the FCC said that Commissioner Harold
Furchtgott-Roth did not participate in the vote out of protest over what he
contends was the denial of his process rights.
The five FCC commissioners have, "for at least 25 years" been allowed to put
off by one month any action set for consideration at a commission meeting.
According to the statement, FCC Chairman William Kennard denied
Furchtgott-Roth's request to push back the decision for three weeks.
Furchtgott-Roth questioned whether it is in the public interest to risk
Internet access charges, according to the statement. It added the decision
had been delayed since last month at the behest of Kennard.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What does this mean?
Too early to tell. There were a lot of new local telephone companies that
were owed a lot of money by the Bell operating companies and GTE if the
traffic was considered local in nature. (1)
This means that the new local telephone companies are probably not going to
be paid, and that Internet Service Providers *may* have to pay on a per
minute basis for access to the telephone network. The commission has now
opened a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on this matter.
There will be a rush of filings by the RBOCS (Regional Bell Operating
Companies) by 08:00 tomorrow.
I would also expect some jitters when the market bell rings later in the
day. I'll be surprised if there isn't some bloom knocked off the rose of
Yahoo.com and other Internet stocks in anticipation of the winds of change.
I'll provide shorter updates as this develops, which could take as much as a
year.
Additional info is at:
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrcc9014.html
Mark
(1) The RBOCS are estimated to owe in excess of a Billion dollars in
inter-company settlements on the state commission's previous ruling(s) of
the jurisdiction of ISP/ESP calls.
