Insights

Somos’ VP of Regulatory and Public Policy Speaks at MoNage: Legal and Regulatory Issues in the Convosphere

Mar 22, 2017

Today, Somos’ VP of Regulatory and Public Policy, Joel Bernstein, spoke on the Legal and Regulatory Issues in the Convosphere panel at MoNage. He highlighted the current administration’s impact on telecom industry, and then commented on the status of certain petitions and FCC policies.

He said, “The actions of President Trump and the nascent administration have left the industry without a playbook. Other than opposing the FCC Open Internet Order and having misgivings about the AT&T-Time Warner merger, President Trump does not have a lot on record about telecom.”

Bernstein also commented on the choice of FCC Chairman Pai. He said that, “Pai is a known quantity, having served at the FCC as a thoughtful, consistent commissioner for five years, and is committed to making the FCC a more transparent place.” He predicted Pai will attempt to overturn the Open Internet Order and render inert the Twilio petition to make messaging a Title II service and therefore regulated like a common carrier.

He also mentioned the Somos petition for declaratory ruling at the FCC that seeks to ensure that the Resp Org assigned to reserve Toll-Free Numbers and route them on behalf of the Toll-Free subscriber has authority when that same Toll-Free Number is used for other purposes. The petition is asking the FCC to clarify that the existing rules of Toll-Free Number reservation and usage apply to all services, not just voice. Bernstein said, “This is important for the integrity of Toll-Free, since only Resp Orgs know the identity of the end-user.”

Interested in participating at the next MoNage event? Visit https://www.monage.io/fall-monage to learn more.