Level 3 seeks access-charge clarity on VoIP calls

Level 3 Communications has asked the FCC to forbear intercarrier access charges from being assessed on calls between a voice-over-IP phone and a phone connected to the traditional circuit-switched network until the commission makes a VoIP ruling.

Level 3 officials said the carrier made the request last week because some ILECs are asking VoIP companies to pay intercarrier access charges on long-distance calls, although VoIP is considered an information service that has not been subject to access charges. ILECs are compensated for terminating information-service traffic at the reciprocal-compensation rate, which is much lower than the intercarrier access rate.

"In granting this petition, the FCC would foster development and growth of new VoIP applications by reducing the regulatory uncertainty that currently surrounds voice over IP," Level 3 CEO James Crowe said in a prepared statement.

This is not the first time carriers have sought regulatory clarity on VoIP from the FCC. Three petitions for declaratory ruling on various types of VoIP traffic have been presented to the FCC previously, but the commission has declined to act on any of them, even though some are more than a year old, according to Level 3 officials.

With this in mind, Level 3 decided to pursue a forbearance petition, which requires the FCC to act within a year and allows only a short extension period, company representatives said. If the commission does not act by the deadline, the requested forbearance is automatically granted.

In addition, the Level 3 petition asks the FCC only to address the access-charge aspect of VoIP, not some of the other regulatory issues surrounding the emerging technology. While the potential forbearance would be effective until the FCC made a decision on VoIP, Level 3 said it hopes the issue will be resolved as part of unified plan for all intercarrier compensation.