AT&T VoIP PETITION LIKELY TO BE DENIED

AT&T's declaratory petition that would exempt the carrier from access charges when it connects phone-to-phone calls using its IP backbone as transport will be denied by the FCC imminently, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

As a result, AT&T and other carriers using IP networks to transport calls from one public-switched telephone network to another will have to pay the same access fees that would be charged if the call was transported over a circuit-switched network. This likely will result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs annually to AT&T, according to several industry experts.

FCC Chairman Michael Powell and Commissioners Kathleen Abernathy and Jonathan Adelstein will form the core of the majority on the decision, which is not expected to require AT&T to pay retroactively the access charges owed ILECs since the petition was filed a year-and-a-half ago, according to Precursor CEO Scott Cleland.

“Access charge disputes are basically unrefereeable — it's gray area upon gray area,” Cleland said. “That's the reason why they're going to bill and keep [in the proposed revamping of the intercarrier compensation regime] — because it's not worth the hassle.”

ILECs have been outspoken that any calls touching the public network should be subject to access charges, and that changing to a call-to-IP in transit between traditional phones does not constitute a voice-over-IP call. Meanwhile, AT&T argued that it is unfair that its ability to benefit economically from its investment in an IP backbone is dependent upon ILECs investing in IP infrastructure in the last mile.

“And the fact is, as long as the current access regime is in place, [ILECs] have no incentive to [upgrade their networks],” according to AT&T spokeswoman Claudia Jones.

AT&T has argued that denying its petition would be a sign that the FCC will burden all VoIP calls with legacy voice regulation. But many others maintain that public network-to-public network calls are different than calls with a VoIP device.

“We are pleased that the FCC will be clarifying existing laws pertaining to AT&T's use of the IP backbone,” said pulver.com President and CEO Jeff Pulver. “I am confident the FCC will effectively shape the policies needed to foster the growth and ubiquity of IP communications.”