CTIA Cites AT&T VoIP Victory in DC Circuit as Undercutting Net Neutrality Ruling

Communications Act (see 1606140023). CTIA, which has sought rehearing of the net neutrality ruling, was referring to a unanimous decision Nov. 18 by a three-judge panel in AT&T v. FCC (No. 15-1059) that vacated and remanded an FCC order siding with CLECs and over-the-top Internet phone providers on a VoIP symmetry rule (see 1611180063). "Foremost, AT&T contradicts the majority’s statement that VoIP apps 'function as an integrated aspect of mobile broadband,'" CTIA said in a letter (in Pacer) Wednesday to the court. "As AT&T explains, app-based VoIP providers do not 'provide interconnection' to users. VoIP users instead 'must obtain broadband transmission from others' to use these apps. Relatedly, AT&T makes clear that even when VoIP is considered, the Internet and the phone network are distinct. When a phone user dials an app-based VoIP user, the data travels along 'the calling party’s [long-distance line]' to 'some intermediate point,' where the VoIP provider and its LEC partner transform the data into IP packets and send it 'over the Internet' to the VoIP customer. The need for a VoIP retailer and a telephone company to convert the data confirms that the phone network and the Internet are not (as the panel majority claimed) an interconnected, single network. More broadly, AT&T confirms that the Court should not ignore technological realities when reviewing the FCC’s extension of a telephone-network regime to the Internet. The framework governing the charges at issue in AT&T did 'not map cleanly onto VoIP-[telephone] traffic.' But that did not excuse the FCC’s 'muddled' analysis."