Upholding FCC’s 2004 ruling on VoIP, a three-judge federal appeals court asserted that VoIP is not a telephone service, it’s a data service. Therefore, the Vonage in particular and VoIP players in general should be exempted from state regulation and seeking certification prior to offering any service.
With this federal verdict, VoIP service providers are now liberated from the state regulatory agencies and FCC. What is the implication of this ruling? I presume no state control means no state taxes upon the customers.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has pronounced this historic judgment while deciding the Vonage vs. Minnesota Public Utilities Commission case.
Welcoming the ruling, Brooke Schulz, a Vonage spokeswoman briefs,
It’s a win not only for Vonage customers but for the entire industry. The emerging industry that relies on the internet shouldn’t be burdened by regulation and laws that are ill-designed for our industry.
