The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released a Report regarding a six-month technical trial in which interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers were permitted to reserve telephone numbers for their end users directly from the numbering administrators rather than indirectly through a separate telecommunications carrier. The Report indicated that this process is feasible, and did not identify technical problems regarding number porting, VoIP interconnection, or intercarrier compensation. The trial report did point out that there may be some confusion regarding parties’ rights and obligations with respect to porting and interconnection, but the Bureau stated that that these matters could be addressed in pending rulemakings addressing those topics. Comments on the report are due March 3, 2014.
