Tit for tat: Qwest strikes back at Vonage with own VoIP service

Trying to derail Vonage’s momentum, Qwest is investigating providing its own voice-over-IP service in Minnesota, hoping to prove to regulators that the service can be provided in a deregulated environment.

Speaking at a Yankee Group conference yesterday in Washington, D.C., Qwest Chairman and CEO Richard Notebaert said Vonage advertises itself as a broadband phone company but refuses to play by the rules of telcos. However, instead of fighting the issue in court, Notebaert wants to use VoIP to deregulate the industry.

"Consistent with the action of the federal court and the inaction on the part of the Federal Communications Commission, we think entry into VoIP might just be the opportunity to begin to break up the massive regulatory logjam that exists today," he said during his speech.

Targeting Minnesota at its first state to launch service is not random. Last month, Vonage won a permanent injunction against the state’s PUC, which was asking the company to register as a carrier or stop providing voice services. Vonage, which insists that voice is simply one application it can provide over an IP network, believes it should be treated as any large enterprise since it buys connectivity from CLECs.

And while many RBOCs in particular may be contemplating court challenges, Notebaert sees the issue as an opportunity.

"Our objective in offering VoIP services would be to find a path toward deregulation," he said. "Unlike the Vonages of the world, our purposes would not be to circumvent access charges or dodge paying Universal Service fees or avoid customer-focused services like 9-1-1."