FCC to Give VoIP Providers Direct Access to Phone Numbers
Apr 18, 2013, 1:17 PM by Eric M. Zeman
The Federal Communications Commission today issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making that would give providers of IP-based voice services, such as Vonage, direct access to telephone numbers. As the system works today, VoIP services must use a middleman to purchase telephone numbers for customers. The FCC recognizes that this can drive up costs for VoIP providers, as well as slow down the introduction of new services, such as HD Voice. The FCC is seeking comment from players in the telecommunications industry on the idea of giving VoIP providers permanent access to the telephone numbering system. Further, the FCC proposed to conduct a six-month trial wherein it will give Vonage and others provisional access to the system to see how it works. Last, the FCC opened a Notice of Inquiry concerning how telephone numbers are assigned to geographical regions. "The tie between area codes and geographic regions has been weakened by number portability," argues the FCC, "especially as mobile subscribers move away from the area where they obtained the service but continue using the number." The Inquiry seeks comment from the industry on whether or not the FCC should change the telephone numbering system's current relationship with subscriber location.
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Comments
What I like just as good...
This would free up a lot of numbers, because how many number are not being used because that area code is over a large rural area and to use all the numbers would be nearly impossible to use all of those numbers. It would then give big city more numbers to use.
I'm also guilty of moving and keeping the same number, most of my friends do not have a local number.
My current number is area code (203) Ct, I've had it since the summer of 2009 while still living in Last Vegas which is area code (702),...so what???
Finally catching up
I use a voip service called Text+, I think it's based out of Sweden, when I signed up, they gave me, for free, a phone number that can also receive incoming calls, and can be called from anywhere in the world. I have never given them a single cent of real money and they gave me my own phone number.
