Washington Post 2007 Annual Report Download - page 37

interstate services subject exclusively to the FCC’s federal jurisdiction. This decision was upheld on appeal, although
the court held that the FCC’s order did not squarely address the classification of cable-provided VoIP services. The FCC
has an ongoing proceeding to consider whether VoIP services provided by cable companies are properly classified as
an “information service,” “telecommunications service” or some new category. This determination could have
numerous regulatory implications for cable companies that provide VoIP services, including, as discussed above,
whether they have to pay higher pole attachment rates because of their provision of VoIP services. Legislation also has
been introduced in Congress to address the classification and regulatory obligations of VoIP providers, though the
prospect for passage of such legislation is uncertain.
Emergency 911 Services. In 2005, the FCC ruled that an interconnected VoIP provider that enables its customers to
make calls to and from persons who use the public switched telephone network must provide its customers with the
same “enhanced 911” or “E911” features that traditional telephone and wireless companies are obligated to provide,
and that rule was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in December 2006.
CALEA. Beginning in 2007, new FCC regulations required VoIP providers to comply with the requirements of the
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which requires covered carriers and their equipment suppliers to
deploy equipment that law enforcement can readily access for lawful wiretap purposes.
Universal Service. The FCC decided in June 2006 that interconnected VoIP services, such as those provided by the
Company’s Cable ONE subsidiary, should be required to contribute to the universal service fund on an interim basis.
The amount of universal service contribution is based on a percentage of revenues earned from end-user interstate
services. The FCC developed three alternatives under which an interconnected VoIP service provider may elect to
calculate its universal service contribution: (i) an interim safe harbor that assumes 64.9% of the provider’s end-user
revenues are interstate; (ii) a traffic study to determine an allocation for interstate end user revenues or (iii) actual
interstate and international end user revenues. If an interconnected VoIP service provider calculates its universal service
contributions based on its actual percentage of interstate calls, the interstate classification of the service might no
longer apply, in which case the VoIP service provider could be subject to regulation by each state in which it operates,
as well as federal regulation. The FCC’s decision to apply universal service obligations to VoIP providers was upheld
by a federal court.
CPNI. In April 2007, the FCC adopted rules expanding protection of customer proprietary network information
(“CPNI”) and extending CPNI protection requirements to interconnected VoIP service providers effective December 8,
2007. Interconnected VoIP providers were required to institute measures to protect customers’ CPNI from unauthorized
disclosure to third parties, including use of passwords to protect online access to CPNI and customer-initiated
telephone access to call detail information.
Access for Persons with Disabilities. In June 2007, the FCC adopted rules requiring interconnected VoIP providers
to comply with all disability access requirements that apply to telecommunications carriers, including provision of
telecommunications relay services for persons with speech or hearing impairments, effective October 5, 2007.
Regulatory Fees. An August 2007 FCC order established that interconnected VoIP service providers must begin
contributing to shared costs of FCC regulation through an annual regulatory fee assessment. The order’s effective date
has not yet been established.
Local Number Portability. In a November 2007 order, the FCC required interconnected VoIP service providers and
their “numbering partners” to ensure that their customers have the ability to port their telephone numbers when changing
providers to or from the interconnected VoIP service. The order also clarifies that local exchange carriers and
commercial mobile radio service providers have an obligation to port numbers to an interconnected VoIP service
provider upon a valid port request. Interconnected VoIP service providers are also required under the order to begin to
contribute to federal funds to meet the shared costs of local number portability and the costs of North American
Numbering Plan Administration. The order’s effective date has not yet been established.
Other Activities
CourseAdvisor, Inc.
In October 2007, the Company acquired the outstanding stock of CourseAdvisor, Inc., an online lead generation
provider, headquartered in Wakefield, MA. In 2006, the Company made a small investment in CourseAdvisor.
Through its search engine marketing expertise and proprietary technology platform, CourseAdvisor generates student
2007 FORM 10-K 21