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ACA To FCC: Interconnection Is The Same, No Matter What The Technology
Even though the American Cable Association has a prominent presence at the NCTC WEC here in Las Vegas, it’s still covering the Washington, D.C., regulatory front, this time urging the FCC to reject a request to exempt IP voice networks from interconnection obligations Congress included in the 1996 Telecom Act. In comments submitted to the agency regarding AT&T’s position that no interconnection regulations should be imposed on an all-IP infrastructure, the group said the carrier’s main request “was contrary both to law and FCC precedent, not to mention being a serious threat to voice competition that has been flourished, especially following the onset of VoIP service over managed networks deployed by cable operators.” In addition, “AT&T’s proposals would mean that cable VoIP providers would need to gamble on ‘best efforts’ Internet routing, which, as over-the-top VoIP service users know quite well, can lead to dropped or degraded calls,” ACA explained.