911 and VoIP
Reuters reports that the FCC tomorrow will adopt rules for VoIP 911 services. When will the first lawsuit be filed?
I am not looking for litigation work, but it seems to me that this entire charade is purely political. The Bells have had enormous trouble implementing 911 for cellphones. They're still having trouble. And now we're going to ask VoIP providers (nascent businesses! competing with the Bells!) to do this in 90 days? 120 days?
And we're not going to require the Bells to allow the VoIP guys to access their equipment for these services? What?
This is crazy. It's not even clear what the Commission thinks its source of jurisdiction is. Non common-carrier VoIP service providers surely don't fit under Title II. And the DC Circuit has clearly told us that Title I isn't the ever-expanding golden purse that the FCC thought it was. So just what gives the Commission the power to do this?
It has to be that the FCC has become convinced (tell me this isn't the case) that independent VoIP services have to be squelched. Run out of town. Diminished so that they can't cause trouble for the big guys.
Luckily, there are many Article III judges who will be available to look hard at this set of issues. The FCC should find some principles — fast.
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