Me again-- but since someone (forget who) posted recently re: this FCC
ruling on Feb 25, I thought we should also see this explanation from the
website that exposes errors,hoaxes, and legends. Please read this before
you get your advocacy hats on! The website--again-- is:
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blasp.htm
Internet Access Rumor Revisited
Dateline: 03/01/99
The FCC finally issued a ruling on February 25 which has been the subject
of virulent email
rumors for the past three months. According to the rumors, a decision was
pending before the
U.S. government whether "to allow or not allow a charge to your phone bill
equal to a long
distance call each time you access the internet."
Last week's ruling does, in fact, declare that because Internet traffic is
"largely interstate in
nature," ISP dial-up connections are properly to be regarded as long
distance calls.
Does this mean the rumors have come true?
No. The ruling does not affect consumer charges. It only pertains to the
rates phone
companies charge each other under existing "reciprocal compensation"
agreements for the
use of local lines. It upholds the longstanding exemption which prevents
phone carriers from
passing these costs along to ISPs and thus to consumers.
From FCC fact sheet on the ruling, posted Feb. 26:
Q: Has the FCC opened the door to Internet charges?
A: Absolutely not. The FCC has reconfirmed the Internet's
exemption. Consumers will see no new charges on their Internet
or phone bills.
Q: Are we going to see new long distance
charges to connect to the Internet?
A: Rumors have been spread by some people,
but these rumors are false. The FCC will not
impose long distance charges for dialing up
the Internet.
Q: Is there any way that local phone companies will be
able to start imposing usage-sensitive access charges
to Internet service providers?
A: No. The exemption from long distance
access charges is solid as a rock and has
been upheld in court.
Q: The FCC will not allow long distance
charges for local calls to the internet. But has the FCC
made it easier for states to impose long distance
charges for local calls to the Internet?
A: No. States have no power to impose long
distance charges. Only the FCC can do that,
and we declared our jurisdiction over
this traffic.
Q: What changes can consumers expect to see
as the result of this decision - in the short run,
and in the long run?
A: Consumers should see no changes
in their Internet or phone bills, either
in the short run or long run, as a
result of this Order. The big picture in
the long run is very positive - our
continued "hands off" policy towards
the Internet will allow it to continue
growing rapidly, unfettered by
regulations.
Some consumer groups and a lone dissenting FCC commissioner, Harold
Furchtgott-Roth,
disagree. Playing to consumer fears (and keeping the access rumor alive),
they claim that the
new ruling might make the ISP exemption vulnerable to legal challenges
down the road.
In a separate statement, Furchtgott-Rott said:
The Commission has also put in jeopardy a longstanding rule that
bars local
phone companies from assessing usage-sensitive access charges on
Internet
service providers. Without this FCC rule, known as the "ESP [Enhanced
Service Provider] Exemption," consumers could be forced to pay
per-minute
fees for dial-up connections to the Internet and services such as
America
Online.
As the world's largest dial-up ISP, America Online and its members would
be hard-hit if these
predictions were to come true. But George Vradenburg, an AOL senior vice
president, said in
an AP wire story that he's not worried. In his judgement, the FCC ruling
will have "no effect
on Internet charges."
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