Report and Order and FNPRM (April 2, 2007)
F. Extension of CPNI Requirements to Providers of Interconnected VoIP Service
54. We extend the application of the Commission’s CPNI rules to providers of interconnected
VoIP service.170 In the IP-Enabled Services Notice and the EPIC CPNI Notice, the Commission sought comment on whether to extend the CPNI requirements to VoIP service providers.171 Since we have not
decided whether interconnected VoIP services are telecommunications services or information services as
those terms are defined in the Act, nor do we do so today,172 we analyze the issues addressed in this Order
under our Title I ancillary jurisdiction to encompass both types of service.173 If the Commission later
classifies interconnected VoIP service as a telecommunications service, the providers of interconnected
VoIP services would be subject to the requirements of section 222 and the Commission’s CPNI rules as
telecommunications carriers under Title II.174
55. We conclude that we have authority under Title I of the Act to impose CPNI requirements on
providers of interconnected VoIP service. Ancillary jurisdiction may be employed, in the Commission’s
discretion, when Title I of the Act gives the Commission subject matter jurisdiction over the service to be
regulated175 and the assertion of jurisdiction is “reasonably ancillary to the effective performance of [its] various responsibilities.”176 Both predicates for ancillary jurisdiction are satisfied here. First, as we
concluded in the Interim USF Order and VoIP 911 Order, interconnected VoIP services fall within the
subject matter jurisdiction granted to us in the Act.177 Second, our analysis requires us to evaluate
whether imposing CPNI obligations is reasonably ancillary to the effective performance of the
Commission’s various responsibilities. Based on the record in this matter, we find that sections 222 and 1
of the Act provide the requisite nexus, with additional support from section 706.
56. Section 222 requires telecommunications carriers to protect the confidentiality of CPNI, and
the Commission has adopted detailed regulations to help clarify this duty.178 The Commission already
has determined that interconnected VoIP service “is increasingly used to replace analog voice service” – a
trend that we expect will continue.179 It therefore seems reasonable for American consumers to expect
that their telephone calls are private irrespective of whether the call is made using the services of a
wireline carrier, a wireless carrier, or an interconnected VoIP provider, given that these services, from the
perspective of a customer making an ordinary telephone call, are virtually indistinguishable.180
57. Moreover, extending section 222’s protections to interconnected VoIP service customers is
necessary to protect the privacy of wireline and wireless customers that place calls to or receive calls from
interconnected VoIP customers. The CPNI of interconnected VoIP customers includes call detail
information concerning all calling and called parties. Thus, by protecting from inadvertent disclosure the
CPNI of interconnected VoIP customers, the Commission will more effectively protect the privacy of
wireline and wireless service customers. We therefore find that the extension of the CPNI privacy
requirements to providers of interconnected VoIP service is reasonably ancillary to the effective
performance of the Commission’s duty to protect the CPNI of all telecommunications customers under
Title II.
58. Section 1 of the Act charges the Commission with responsibility for making available “a
rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire and radio communication service . . . for the purpose of promoting safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio communication.”181 In light of
this statutory mandate in conjunction with the recent real-life implications of the unauthorized release of
CPNI, protecting a consumer’s private information continues to be one of the Commission’s public safety
responsibilities.182 If we failed to exercise our responsibilities under sections 222 and 1 of the Act with
respect to customers of interconnected VoIP service, a significant number of American consumers might
suffer a loss of privacy and/or safety resulting from unauthorized disclosure of their CPNI – and be
harmed by this loss. Therefore, we believe that extending the CPNI obligations to interconnected VoIP
service providers is “reasonably ancillary to the effective performance of [our] responsibilities”183 under
sections 222 and 1 of the Act, and “will ‘further the achievement of long-established regulatory goals’”184
to protect the confidentiality of CPNI.185
59. We also are guided by section 706 of the Act, which, among other things, directs the
Commission to encourage the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans
by using measures that “promote competition in the local telecommunications market.”186 The protection
of CPNI may spur consumer demand for interconnected VoIP services, in turn driving demand for
broadband connections, and consequently encouraging more broadband investment and deployment
consistent with the goals of section 706.187 Thus, pursuant to our ancillary jurisdiction, we extend the
CPNI obligations to providers of interconnected VoIP services.188
