Public Knowledge Urges FCC To Preserve Consumer Protections for VoIP Services

Public Knowledge filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling urging the Federal Communications Commission to declare Voice over Internet Protocol as a Title II “common carrier” telecommunications service. Communications Workers of America, Center for Rural Strategies, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, Next Century Cities, The Public Utility Law Project of New York, and The Utility Reform Network joined the filing. Congress created a broad, technology-agnostic definition of a telecommunications service in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 so that consumers using future technologies such as VoIP would still receive the same level of protection and service quality as traditional communications networks. Without this reclassification, consumers risk losing valuable protections including fair pricing, service quality standards, and reliable emergency services. Public Knowledge calls on the agency to act to ensure everyone has access to reliable, quality voice service no matter what technology provides it.