At its October 25 public meeting, the FCC is set to vote on a proposed declaratory ruling to clarify federal law regarding state, local, and tribal government 911 fees and charges imposed on VoIP services. According to the proposed ruling:
[W]e hereby declare that the VoIP 911 Fee Parity Provision prohibits non-federal governmental entities from imposing 911 fees or charges on VoIP services in any manner that would result in a subscriber to such VoIP services paying a total amount of 911 fees or charges that exceeds the total amount of 911 fees or charges that the same subscriber would pay for a traditional telecommunications service with the same 911 outbound calling capability or same quantity of units upon which 911 fees are imposed for traditional telecommunications services. We find this statutory interpretation best effectuates long-standing goals to promote and enhance public safety by facilitating the rapid deployment of VoIP 911 services and to promote and facilitate the transition from legacy, TDM-based services to next-generation, IP-based services for the benefit of all Americans.
The Commission's draft ruling states that "[t]his interpretation best comports with the text of the NET 911 Act as a whole [and] its legislative history." The NET 911 Act 's "VoIP 911 Fee Parity Provision" provides that "[f]or each class of subscribers to IP-enabled voice services, the fee or charge may not exceed the amount of any such fee or charge applicable to the same class of subscribers to telecommunications services."
As a general matter, VoIP and other IP-based services should not be subject to any regulatory burdens or fees that are not also imposed on non-IP based services. The Commission's proposed declaratory ruling on VoIP 911 fee parity is based on a straightforward reading of federal law and it is sound policy. The Commission should adopt the declaratory ruling.
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