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For Immediate Release
04/24/08
| Contact: |
Joe Brenckle - Republican Press Office 202-224-3991
Brian Eaton w/Stevens 202-224-0445
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Stevens Introduces Legislation to Combat Phantom Traffic
Bill will Ensure that All Phone Traffic Has Sufficient Signaling Data |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Vice Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today introduced legislation to combat the issue of “phantom traffic,” which represents traffic that is sent over telephone networks without identifying information used for intercarrier billing purposes. The Signaling Modernization Act of 2008 is cosponsored by Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).
“Phantom traffic has become a problem for rural carriers in Alaska and throughout rural America,” said Senator Stevens. “Phantom traffic prevents carriers from collecting funds they are owed, which in turn impacts universal service and ultimately telephone rates for customers in rural America. It is time for the FCC to pull back the mask and see who or what is behind phantom traffic.”
Senator Stevens noted that the loss of revenue associated with “phantom traffic” can have effects that go beyond higher consumer prices.
“This means that these rural carriers are destined not to be in a position to do what we want them to do, which is to deploy broadband,” Senator Stevens said.
The Signaling Modernization Act of 2008 would:
- create an obligation that voice communications service providers (including VoIP providers providing 2-way service) ensure that all calls contain sufficient information to reasonably facilitate intercarrier billing;
- extend the obligation to intermediate providers; providers in the middle of a call-path that are transiting the traffic between the originating and terminating providers;
- require the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to establish rules implementing these requirements within 12 months of enactment; and
- require the FCC to consider industry standards for signaling, technical limitations of signaling equipment currently being used by the industry, and costs incurred in modifying equipment to accommodate any necessary changes.
# # #
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