Policy makers seek stronger E911 solutions for VoIP 

By Joan Engebretson

New legislation and a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) from the Federal Communications Commission aim to address lingering incompatibilities between emergency number or 911 service and voice-over-IP service...

Vonage won’t get retrial 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has refused to grant Vonage a retrial of the patent case it lost against Verizon Communications earlier this year. ...

VoIP pioneer says Verizon patents too broad 

By Carol Wilson

A Washington analyst who was part of the original VoIP Forum says there is solid proof that Verizon received patents on aspects of VoIP networking that were already in existence, and that the federal district court that found Vonage in violation of Verizon’s patents used the broadest possible interpretation of the patent language...

Iowa telcos: Stage set for showdown 

By Carol Wilson

The stage is set for a David vs. Goliath showdown next week, when a group of Iowa rural telcos and their conference-calling partners meet with the Federal Communications Commission in an effort to force major incumbents including AT&T, Qwest and Sprint to continue paying the high termination fees that fund their free and low-cost calling business....

Vonage officials say they'll persevere 

Vonage officials last week were staring at yet another possible body blow from the U.S. District Court in Washington but remained stoic and determined...

Vonage gets temporary stay 

By Carol Wilson

Vonage has secured a temporary stay against a federal judge’s order that prevents it from signing up new customers to its VoIP service, now that the service has been judged to violate three Verizon patents...

Vonage gets only partial stay 

By Carol Wilson

A federal judge this morning refused to delay enforcement of a patent judgment against Vonage, instead giving the company only partial relief. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton said Vonage could continue to use a VoIP platform that violates Verizon patents to serve its current customers, but could not solicit new customers for that service...

More VoIP patent suits likely 

By Carol Wilson

The season for suing over Internet telephony patents has probably just begun, according to patent attorneys. In fact, a week after Verizon won a $58 million...

Vonage banned from using Verizon patents 

By Carol Wilson

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has issued a permanent injunction, banning Vonage from using Internet phone technology own by Verizon...

Deadline pressure drives CALEA compliance 

By Tim McElligott

With one CALEA deadline having come and gone last week and another looming in three months, procrastinating service providers are scrambling to comply....

European Commission OKs Nokia Siemens 

By Kevin Fitchard

The European Commission today approved the proposed networks joint venture between Nokia and Siemens, clearing the final major regulatory hurdle to creating the second largest network infrastructure in the world...

Vonage tries on another patent infringement suit 

By Ed Gubbins

Vonage Holdings is being sued for patent infringement again after being sued by Verizon Communications for the same reason last month...

FCC raises universal service fund fees  

By Sarah Reedy

The Federal Communications Commission voted today to increase the amount cell-phone companies must pay to the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service in rural areas. ...

Verizon sues Vonage for patent infringement 

By Carol Wilson

Voice over IP pioneer Vonage, already on Wall Street’s slippery stock slope, now faces an unexpected patent challenge from Verizon....

Report: CALEA rules endanger VoIP 

By Carol Wilson

A new industry association report claims applying federal wiretap laws to voice-over-IP services will either limit the current flexibility of those services or introduce serious security risks to domestic IP networks. ...

VON stirs Net neutrality pot 

By Carol Wilson

Incumbents speak on content era's new hot topic, but they win few fans...

VON: Notebaert calls net neutrality a commercial issue 

By Carol Wilson

SAN JOSE--Network neutrality issues can be easily handled with the existing commercial agreements framework, Qwest Communications CEO Richard Notebaert told the VON conference today...

VON: BellSouth exec pitches need for IP service tiers 

By Carol Wilson

BellSouth Chief Architect Hank Kafka walked into the lion’s den Tuesday night, attempting in a rapid-fire half-hour technology presentation to convince a skeptical VON crowd that burgeoning video traffic will swamp current IP network capacity and require regulatory freedom for carriers to offer tiered services....

NTCA: Rural carriers’ future getting cloudier 

By Vince Vittore

SAN DIEGO--In a panel discussion last week as part of the Rural Telecom Summit at the NTCA Expo here, a group of industry experts ...

Vonage says Bell companies triggered E911 crisis 

By Carol Wilson

Vonage’s inability to meet the Federal Communications Commission’s E911 deadline is a direct result of foot-dragging by major incumbent telcos, the company said today. ...

VoIP market holds breath as deadline passes 

By Tim McElligott

The FCC-imposed deadline for filing Enhanced 911 compliance reports by voice-over-IP service providers came and went yesterday with little fanfare. The fanfare will come when the FCC tallies the reports and makes its decisions on enforcement of the potentially show-stopping penalties with which it has threatened the emerging industry...

Coalition blasts per-number USF plan 

By Vince Vittore

The Keep Universal Service Fund Fair Coalition today hammered FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s proposal to base USF contributions on a per-number basis...

Bush FCC nominees have industry approval 

By Carol Wilson

President Bush’s choices of Deborah Tate and Michael Copps for the Federal Communications Commission seem to have struck a proper balance...

FCC to limit VoIP E911 enforcement 

By Carol Wilson

Once again backpedaling from its once-onerous deadline on E911 compliance, the Federal Communications Commission said yesterday that it will not take enforcement action against the Voice over IP service providers who have successfully notified at least 90% of their customers of the limitations of VoIP in emergency calling....

VON: Reform slow in coming, says panel 

By Carol Wilson

BOSTON--Despite the fact that there are now two telecom reform measures in front of Congress--one in the House and one in the Senate--a panel of regulatory insiders agreed Monday at the VON conference in Boston that chances are slim that telecom reform will pass this year...