FreeConference, a web-based teleconferencing site that offers toll-free
numbers and free setup for its bespoke service has been blocked by
Sprint-Nextel, Qwest, and AT&T allegedly due to the call
termination fees assessed by the local numbers in FreeConference’s
database. The website has a FAQ page explaining the issue and calls on
customers to appeal to the FCC to remove the blocks imposed.
FreeConference’s position is that the carriers themselves are blocking
the service due to competition. From the FAQ:
“We believe that AT&T/Cingular, Sprint and Qwest are violating
the public trust as well as abusing their market
power. AT&T and
Qwest have recently filed different suits against some rural telephone
companies and businesses that bring you a variety of services,
including affordable conferencing
services. FreeConference.com is not
a defendant in any of these suits. These suits
basically claim that
services similar to ours operate within a
“loophole” in the fee
structure that has been set up by the FCC and Congress to ensure all
carriers are compensated for outside use of their
networks. This fee
structure is not a “loophole”—it is the
system by which all carriers
compensate each other for sharing their
capacity. Without this system,
communication would breakdown, since not every carrier would be
connected to every person. These major carriers
don’t want to change
this part of this system—but instead want to change a part of
the
system that forces them to pay for using someone else’s
equipment.”
So far none of the mentioned carriers have issued any comments
regarding this issue. We will follow this story and report on any new
developments as they happen.
