FCC Requires Cable VoIP to Pay Fees

FCC REQUIRES CABLE VOIP TO PAY FEES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Cable operators will need to hand over a portion of their voice-over-Internet-protocol revenue to the federal government to help fund the Federal Communications Commission’s annual budget, the agency ruled Monday. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association didn't oppose the payment of VoIP regulatory fees, especially if the agency based cable VoIP contributions on a per-phone-number basis. The FCC, however, opted for a revenue-based formula, which doesn't easily produce the per-phone-number burden of the VoIP regulatory-fee mandate. That’s because cable operators in many cases package VoIP service in a bundle with video and data services under a single price. In a statement, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps emphasized his "long-held and oft-repeated belief that the Commission should consider opening a formal rulemaking to address the adjustment of regulatory fees." He said, "In a rapidly-evolving communications marketplace, we need to look for ways to ensure that our regulatory fee methodologies continue to reflect the industries we regulate." FCC Commissioner Adelstein said he remains "troubled with the Commission's inability and reluctance to consider changes that occur from time to time in the costs of regulatory fees for individual services."
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6465995.html

* Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2007
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-140A1.doc

* Commissioner Copps:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-140A2.doc

* Commissioner Adelstein:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-140A3.doc