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Verizon to FCC: Open numbering resources to VoIP providers

June 11, 2012 | By Chris Rizo

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Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) says VoIP carriers should be allowed direct access to numbering resources so long as the providers follow the same rules as other carriers, the company said late last week in a letter to federal regulators.

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, Verizon said the company does not object to a pending petition that asks commissioners to grant Vonage (NYSE: VG) and other VoIP providers direct access to public North American Numbering Plan telephone numbers.

The June 8 letter asks that if a limited waiver of FCC numbering rules is granted that certain requirements are stipulated.

Verizon said it does not object to the Vonage-led petition for a rules waiver so long as the FCC "makes clear" that VoIP providers that obtain public North American Numbering Plan telephone numbers must comply with the FCC's broader numbering rules, including provisions related to number portability.

The letter argues that VoIP providers granted a waiver should be required to comply with FCC rules both for numbers they would obtain from the NANPA as well as for numbers they port in their systems.

"VoIP providers should be subject to the same numbering requirements as carriers and should not be saddled with additional burdens whether imposed by states or otherwise," Ann Berkowitz, director of federal regulatory affairs for Verizon, wrote.

Berkowitz outlined the company's position in an ex parte letter to FCC Secretary Marlene Dorth.

In her letter, Berkowitz urged the FCC to "facilitate" the market-led transition away from the circuit-switched PSTN towards IP-based networks for voice by eliminating unnecessary legacy regulations, including numbers restrictions that inhibit commercial IP interconnection arrangements.

"The best way the commission can encourage the transition to IP voice networks is to avoid unnecessary regulation, including eliminating existing regulations that needlessly impose costs and complexity," Berkowitz wrote.

The petition before the FCC Common Carrier Bureau is Vonage Holdings Corp. Petition for Limited Waiver of Section 52.15(g)(2)(i) of the Commission's Rules Regarding Access to Numbering Resources, CC Docket No. 99-200 (March 4, 2005).

For more:
- read the Verizon letter

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