State commissioners petition FCC to step up regulation of unused phone numbers

State utility commissioners want action by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure all Voice over IP (VoIP) phone providers follow the same set of rules for managing phone numbers.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) filed a formal request with the FCC for a rulemaking to stop "a number" of VoIP carriers who "continue to seek favored treatment via direct access to [phone] numbers and without the related obligations." NARUC argues that there is no mechanism for monitoring number utilization by unlicensed and non-certified carriers, which are "not likely to have an incentive to efficiently utilize numbering resources." Many "small nomadic" VoIP providers haven't obtained licenses from either states or the FCC, but instead directly petitioned the FCC for a waiver, NARUC said in its request. NARUC's request for rulemaking is a result of those petitions, it said.