Today: American Samoa FirstNet, Minnesota Charter Bolsters Case Against VoIP Regulation  

American Samoa Opts-In to FirstNet

American Samoa has opted into FirstNet leaving only the Northern Mariana Islands which have until March 12, 2018, to make their decision.  American Samoa Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga accepted the FirstNet and AT&T proposal to deliver a wireless broadband network to the territory’s public safety community.  “In weighing this important decision to join FirstNet or deploy our own system, our team came to the conclusion that opting-in to FirstNet was the better solution for American Samoa and our first responders,” said Governor Moliga.

Minnesota - Charter Bolsters Case Against VoIP Regulation at U.S. Court of Appeals

Charter told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit that the FCC’s recent Internet Freedom order further strengthens their argument that VoIP should be classified as an information service and that the states are expressly preempted from regulating broadband internet services.  Now, Charter is arguing, based on the Internet Freedom Order, that information services can include a “transmission component” and that this “does not render broadband Internet access services telecommunications services; if it did, the entire category of information services would be narrowed drastically.”  This case is pending a final decision by the 8th Circuit. 

Originally, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission ordered Charter to comply with all Minnesota laws and rules that apply to a telephone service.  Charter successfully appealed the PUC's order in district court, and the PUC is now seeking to overturn the court's ruling.   The PUC continues to maintain that it was within the telecommunications systems management exemption of “information services” under the Telecommunications Act and that enables them to oversee the VoIP service.  Inteserra Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 5/12/17.

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.