Sixty-two members of Congress on Tuesday asked the FCC to rule that Internet phone service is an interstate service subject only to federal jurisdiction.
Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) said in a press release VoIP service “must develop and prosper without the threat of a patchwork of state regulations stifling the innovation.” In the letter addressed to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, the members of Congress asked the commission to “immediately declare that it has exclusive jurisdiction over VoIP services.”
“However, in doing so, any commission action should recognize the legitimate role of state consumer protection and public safety laws of general applicability,” the letter states.
Vonage Holdings Corp., the biggest Internet phone company, last year asked the commission to classify VoIP as an interstate service outside the jurisdiction of state regulators after the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission released an order requiring Vonage to comply with traditional telecommunications rules.
A judge overturned the Minnesota PUC, but the case is on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
Beyond the Minnesota PUC, numerous state public utility commissions also have opened proceedings to look at regulating Internet phone companies. The New York State Department of Public Service voted to partially regulate Vonage, but a U.S. magistrate judge granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the commission from regulating the Edison, N.J., company.
An FCC spokesman said there "should be a decision relatively soon" on the Vonage petition, but he did not provide a specific date.
