FCC rules ISP calls are long-distance in nature

[Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>]

FCC rules ISP calls are long-distance in nature

By Nancy Weil InfoWorld Electric

Posted at 10:58 AM PT, Feb 25, 1999 In a long-anticipated vote, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday decided that dial-up Internet calls are interstate in nature and not local.

The ruling overturns state decisions holding that dial-up calls to the Internet are local. The decision also could mean that local phone companies will be able to assess usage-sensitive access charges on ISPs, the FCC suggested in a statement Thursday regarding its vote. Without the so-called "Enhanced Service Provider Exemption," consumers might have to pay per-minute fees for dialing into the Internet on local lines, however not all Internet access calls necessarily will be charged at long distance rates.

The matter has been under discussion for months by the FCC, which ruled in October 1998 that high-speed Internet access provided by GTE is interstate in nature because a certain percentage of Internet traffic originates in one state and winds up in another.

In a statement regarding the ruling, the FCC said that Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth did not participate in the vote out of protest over what he contends was the denial of his process rights.

The five FCC commissioners have, "for at least 25 years," been allowed to put off by one month any action set for consideration at a commission meeting. According to the statement, William Kennard, the FCC's chairman denied Furchtgott-Roth's request to push back this decision for three weeks.

Furchtgott-Roth questioned whether it is in the public interest to risk Internet access charges, according to the statement, which went on to say that the decision had been delayed from January at the behest of Kennard.

The Federal Communications Commission, in Washington, can be reached at www.fcc.gov.

Nancy Weil is a Boston correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate.