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IP Interconnection: The FCC's Overdue Reckoning with VoIP


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When you make a phone call today, your voice travels over the internet—not copper wires. Yet the rules governing how voice networks interconnect are still rooted in the time-division multiplexing (TDM) era. The FCC's "Advancing IP Interconnection" proposal would sunset those legacy obligations by 2028 and establish a new framework for IP-to-IP interconnection.

Dario Betti, CEO of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum, breaks down the stakes: by mid-2024, 75% of U.S. residential fixed voice was VoIP, yet there's no comprehensive federal framework. The result? Parallel infrastructure, peering disputes, and call quality degradation. The FCC wants clear rules—but first must answer a deferred question: Is interconnected VoIP a Title II "telecommunications service" or an "information service"? That classification determines whether the agency can mandate interconnection and resolve disputes.

The cleanest path: classify VoIP under Title II with targeted forbearance, impose a narrow duty to interconnect on just and reasonable terms, set quality minimums for 911, and establish light-touch dispute resolution. The market has moved. Policy is catching up.

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Key topics: FCC, IP interconnection, VoIP regulation, Title II classification, TDM sunset, telecom policy, 911/NG911, rural carriers, call quality, telecommunications service, information service.

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On MessageBy Mobile Ecosystem Forum