[NYT] Bell-South charging access fees for phone-over-Internet

[bill.stewart@pobox.com]

INTERNET FEES CHARGED � [New York Times, C5.] Ever since
April, when the Federal Communications Commission reported
to Congress that telephone calls made from one phone to
another using the Internet could become subject to network
access fees, the industry has been waiting for a test case.
BellSouth has now provided the test. The company has written
to a half-dozen Internet service providers in its region saying
that in November, BellSouth will start levying access fees for
voice conversations the Internet companies transmit. The fees
are the same sort that local phone companies like BellSouth
charge to AT&T and MCI for connecting calls to the local
network. Internet traffic has never been subject to such fees. But
the Internet telephony companies are not ready to give in. In
some ways, BellSouth's move may be largely symbolic, since
most Internet voice traffic so far involves attempts to avoid the
high charges for international long-distance calls, in which local
access fees are a relatively minor part of the price. And yet,
BellSouth is trying to close what many in the telephone industry
have seen as a loophole in networking pricing regulations. 
				Thanks! 
					Bill
Bill Stewart, bill.stewart@pobox.com
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