ISPs Ask FCC to Stick to Original (Backup) Power Play

Internet service providers asked the Federal Communications Commission to stay the course and not mandate that fixed VoIP providers install and maintain battery backup for all their customers in case of emergency. The FCC had decided to require those providers to offer up to eight hours of backup power for their VoIP phone service and inform consumers of their backup power options at the point of purchase but not to make those ISPs "solely responsible for continuity of a customer’s service [primarily 911 capability] during a power outage," as the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, American Cable Association and USTelecom phrased it in a filing supporting the initial FCC decision. Various consumer advocates (including the Benton Foundation) challenged the FCC decision, petitioning it to reconsider the decision, saying those ISPs should have to provide backup to all customers.