Embarq proposes fee increases for VoIP

EMBARQ PROPOSES FEE INCREASES FOR VOIP
[SOURCE: Jeff Pulver]
On January 11, 2008, Embarq filed a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to forbear from any application of the Enhanced Service Provider (“ESP”) exemption to IP-to-PSTN voice traffic. What does this mean? Well, if granted, it could raise the cost of broadband users who want to talk with their analog counterparts – thus putting a toll booth on the digital transition. Economists have suggested that elimination of the ESP exemption for VoIP, as Embarq proposes, would raise rates on broadband voice users by as much as $200 million a year industry-wide. For free services, it could make the difference between whether the services can even be economically offered to consumers.
http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/007817.html