Can and Should the FCC Regulate Internet Telephony?

On March 4, 1996, America's Carriers Telecommunication Association (ACTA), a trade group representing primarily medium and small long-distance telephone companies, filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a controversial Petition for Declaratory Ruling, Special Relief and Institution of a Rulemaking. ¹ ACTA alleged that providers of Internet telephony software operate as uncertified and unregulated common carrier ² in contravention of Commission Rules and Regulations. The trade association suggested the need for regulatory parity: FCC jurisdiction and common carrier regulation of companies selling Internet telephony, because conventional telephone service providers face such government oversight. ACTA also warned that increasing use of Internet resources for telephony "could result in a significant reduction of the Internet's ability to handle the customary types of Internet traffic." ³