Decision on Phone Dispute Is Urged

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman W.J. “Billy” Tauzin on Thursday pressured communications regulators to resolve a dispute involving hundreds of millions of dollars between long-distance telephone carrier AT&T; Corp. and local carrier SBC Communications Inc.

In a letter, the Louisiana Republican demanded that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell say by Feb. 5 whether AT&T; had to pay access charges to local carriers that complete its calls routed partially over the Internet.

AT&T;, the biggest U.S. long-distance service provider, asked the agency about 16 months ago to address the issue.

At that time, SBC -- the dominant local phone carrier in California -- said it started receiving less compensation for connecting AT&T; calls that traveled partially over the Internet.

SBC, the No. 2 local telephone company in the U.S., told the FCC in December that it estimated that it has lost between $200 million and $450 million in revenue “due to illegal access avoidance” and that an additional $800 million annually was at risk.

“The commission has failed to answer this straightforward question,” Tauzin said in the letter to Powell. “Silence is not acceptable.”

The FCC may address the issue next month as well as launch a broader review into what regulations, if any, should apply to telephone calls that are carried at least partially over the Internet.

“This is part of an active proceeding that the commission is committed to finishing soon,” FCC spokesman Michael Balmoris said. “We look forward to the opportunity to provide clarity on this issue.”

Powell has expressed a preference for not putting any economic regulations on calls that traverse entirely over the Internet, known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, but it was unclear how the agency would rule on the AT&T; issue.

“We’ll be very interested in his response, because it will be a clear signal of whether Chairman Powell intends to keep a hands-off approach on VoIP as he has indicated,” AT&T; spokeswoman Claudia Jones said.

Most telephone companies have said that calls that never touch the traditional public telephone network should not be subject to access fees, but they are divided over what charges apply to those calls that partially move over the Internet.

U.S. phone companies are clamoring to launch Internet-based service to lower costs, but whether consumers will switch is unclear.