PUC Member Changes Stance on Internet Calls

A member of the California Public Utilities Commission has reversed his position in a regulatory case involving how calls to Internet service providers are handled. PUC Commissioner Josiah Neeper set off an avalanche of criticism from Internet users and some phone companies when he called for a change in the way phone companies compensate each other for connecting calls to ISPs. But Neeper issued a new proposal late last week that would leave the current system in place pending a broader inquiry into the issue. The case involves a dispute between Pacific Bell and rival phone company Pac-West Telecomm, a Stockton company that serves mostly ISPs. Neeper’s original proposal called for a compensation plan that would have resulted in increased costs for local ISPs and that could trickle down to users in the form of higher monthly fees. The PUC was scheduled to rule on the matter last week--before Neeper’s new proposal was issued--but the matter was postponed. At Thursday’s meeting, the PUC will consider Neeper’s new proposal and a proposal from an administrative law judge that would retain the current system but set new rates.