A tentative conclusion that some VoIP phone calls should fall und...
A tentative conclusion that some VoIP phone calls should fall under CALEA is circulating among the FCC commissioners in a notice of proposed rulemaking, we've learned. An FCC source confirmed the rulemaking has been on circulation several weeks. A…
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regulatory attorney who follows VoIP issues said Fri. providers have 2 main concerns. The first concerns the logic by which FCC would make the finding and the implication for VoIP regulation in general. “Does this mean that FCC is prejudging that VoIP is a telecom service under Title 2 [of the Communications Act]? The question is how FCC is going to thread the needle.” The other concern is that many VoIP operators won’t be able to configure their systems to comply with a CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) mandate: “Some people don’t have their systems designed to accommodate CALEA,” the attorney said. “Not all companies have a mediated service. Their calls don’t go through a mediated point.” A 2nd regulatory attorney with a VoIP provider said the order could be problematic: “If the goal is to really encourage innovation and new technologies and services as it has been to date…the VoIP community should be free to progress unfettered by legacy regulations.”