FCC Needs To Move Quickly On VOIP Rules: Sprint CEO
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Action by the Federal Communications Commission on Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, tops the policy priority list for Sprint Corp. (FON), the company's chief executive said Monday.
"VOIP needs to be dealt with very quickly by the FCC," Sprint's Chief Executive Gary Forsee said in a press conference following a speech to a telecommunications conference sponsored by the Yankee Group.
The FCC "may leave some things not completed, but they need to make some declaratory rulings reasonably quickly," Forsee said.
The FCC will rule at a Commission meeting Tuesday on a petition by Vonage Holdings Corp. asking the agency to declare its VOIP service as an information service - thus pre-empting it from state mandates. Supporters of such a ruling say that regulatory certainty is needed for the technology to prosper.
Forsee also wants to see action on intercarrier compensation, broadband investments and wireless regulations and taxes. "All of those issues are very important to us," Forsee said.
But he cautioned against expecting too much from the FCC or Congress on telecommunications reform and was lukewarm to a broad re-write of telecommunications rules. Many analysts expect Congress next year to embark on a review of the 1996 telecommunications act, though such a process could take years.
"To expect there's ever going to be perfect legislation...we've certainly proved in the past that's very difficult to do," Forsee said, adding, "the 1996 Act didn't land where the authors thought it might."
The Sprint CEO would prefer to see telecommunications companies take the lead on reform through industry forums "to allow industry to more actively engage rather than expect legislation to provide the perfect solution."
Last month, Sprint reported double-digit growth in its wireless revenue during the third quarter, which offset declines in its local and long-distance service revenues.
CEO Forsee said Sprint will continue to invest in its wireless business and that it isn't looking to exit local and long-distance. The company currently has 23.2 million wireless customers.
"As we sit here today, (local service) is still strategic and it's not something we would have an interest in exiting and the only caveat I put is the caveat I put on any of those business discussions - as we look five years down road it's hard to say exactly what the perfect set of assets are at this point," Forsee said.
Sprint won't be a big player in the effort to deploy broadband to homes on a national basis. Recently, such telecommunications companies as SBC Communications Inc. (SBC) and Verizon Communications (VZ) have stepped up plans to deploy broadband to homes and neighborhoods following favorable FCC decisions that eased network sharing, or unbundling, rules.
"Our investment has been dominated by wireless for the consumer space and for us to make a second investment is not going to happen, so we'll end up partnering with others who will make that investment," Forsee said.
"Whether it's working with cable companies to have cable modems interact with our wireless network or working with DSL or whether it's working with other forms of broadband - kind of Bring-Your-Own-Broadband - working with wireless, then we've got to make sure that we've got a model that supports and works with that," Forsee said.
- By Brian Blackstone; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-828-3397; brian.blackstone@ dowjones.com
Source: IWon - Money
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