Minnesota to FCC: Regulating Charter VoIP Won't Hurt Market
"State regulation does not stifle growth and innovation,” the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission said Wednesday at the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The PUC replied (in Pacer) to an FCC amicus brief saying that allowing Minnesota to regulate Charter…
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Communications' VoIP service would disrupt the market, stifle competition and hurt consumers (see 1710300036). “The suggestion that state regulation, the status quo prior to the district court’s decision, hamstrings the growth and proliferation of VoIP, is a non sequitur, plainly contradicted by the rapid transition to VoIP technology across the telephone industry,” the PUC said. “The 1996 Act is resilient to this transition. Changed technology may displace old networks but it does not upset the rule of law.” The state commission wants to apply CLEC regulations only to Charter, it said. “These competitive carrier regulations do not regulate a competitive carrier’s rates, nor require Commission review and approval of the carrier’s tariffs,” the PUC said. “The regulation is substantially less than the legacy regulations applicable to incumbent local exchange carriers with whom Charter also competes.”