Nuvio seeks non-discriminatory broadband for VoIP

Wholesale voice-over-IP provider Nuvio this week asked the FCC to adopt rules prohibiting providers of the broadband connections needed for VoIP services from degrading third-party offerings in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage.

Nuvio made the request in an ex parte filing as part of the FCC’s proceeding regarding IP-enabled services such as VoIP. Nuvio CEO Jason Talley said the filing was spurred by recent indications from cable operators that they believe they should be compensated for providing the broadband pipe that allow third-party VoIP providers to reach customers.

In the filing, Nuvio notes that broadband network providers, such as cable companies or incumbent telephone carriers, have an economic incentive to degrade voice quality of third-party VoIP providers by limiting the amount of bandwidth dedicated for such purposes. Doing so could help convince customers to subscribe to the VoIP products offered by the network providers, which could dedicated more bandwidth to their own VoIP offerings.

"If left unchecked, such discrimination would seriously endanger the vibrant competition that currently exists in the market for VoIP services and ultimately harm consumers," the filing states. "Therefore, Nuvio urges the commission to exercise its Title I authority over information services to preserve competition in the VoIP market by prohibiting such discrimination by broadband service providers."

Talley said Nuvio, as a VoIP wholesaler, would not be affected as much as retail providers such as Vonage and 8x8. In addition, he said he does not know of any instances of such discrimination to date, although the number of consumer VoIP customers is so small that it would be difficult to demonstrate at this time.

However, Talley said the filing is an important step to "head off that threat." Given the indications that cable companies want compensation from third-party VoIP providers, there is a possibility that broadband providers could degrade the voice quality of VoIP providers that refuse to pay the network provider’s price, he said.

"Broadband is a service and a utility that should not be used as a tool to stifle competition," Talley said. "There is a potential for a problem, and we need to address it now."

Although not addressed in Nuvio’s FCC filing, regulators and lawmakers also may need to decide whether a broadband network provider can require a customer to pay for VoIP as part of broadband connection bundle, even if the customer would prefer to use a third-party VoIP provider, he said.

As for the nondiscrimination request, Talley said he hope the FCC will address the issue when it adopts IP-services rules. However, he acknowledged that Nuvio could file a petition for a declaratory ruling on the matter in the future.

"I think this is just the first step, and we’ll see where it goes from there," Talley said.