No Need to Be a CLEC

Peter : On Rad's Radar?
Peter
| Peter Radizeski of RAD-INFO, Inc. talking telecom, Cloud, VoIP, CLEC, and The Channel.

No Need to Be a CLEC

Up until the FCC's test plan today, VoIP Providers had to rely on CLEC's to get phone numbers. "The FCC has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on direct access to telephone numbers for VoIP providers, a process that they say will streamline the process to roll out services," writes FierceTelecom.

"Telephone numbers are a valuable and limited resource; access to and use of numbers must be managed judiciously to ensure that they are available as needed and to protect the efficient and reliable operation of the telephone network," states the FCC in its notice today about the six month trial for a few inter-connected VoIP providers to get direct access to a few numbers.

"In the accompanying Notice of Inquiry, we seek comment on a range of issues regarding our long-term approach to numbering resources. The relationship between numbers and geography--taken for granted when numbers were first assigned to fixed wireline telephones--is evolving as consumers turn increasingly to mobile and nomadic services. We seek comment on these trends and associated Commission policies."

It is nice to know that the FCC is trying to adjust to a world where phone numbers are mobile. It is also trying to adjust to a world where the PSTN is in sunset in favor of an all-IP world.

If this trial does work, it means CLEC's, especially Level3 (and its partners), will lose some business. Much of the VoIP world gets DIDs from L3. I just hope Vonage doesn't screw this up, since the real worry is technical -- can they manage the numbers without depleting them; and directories like 911 and 411/DA have to be updated accurately.

This will likely result in a marketplace for vanity numbers.



Related Articles to 'No Need to Be a CLEC'
fmc14.JPG
bolts.jpg
Ziglar-quote-like-trust.jpg
tompeters-re-imagine.jpg
Featured Events