NCTA said it generally supports subjecting broadband telephony pr...

NCTA said it generally supports subjecting broadband telephony providers to CALEA, it said in reply comments on the petition for rulemaking filed by federal agencies. NCTA said that decision can be made without affecting the regulatory classification of VoIP. NCTA said it supports a declaratory ruling that providers of broadband telephony be viewed as telecom carriers for the purposes of CALEA, with 2 qualifications: (1) The Commission should include all similarly situation providers, including Vonage and CallVantage. (2) The Commission should make clear that when services like Vonage and CallVantage are provided over the facilities of other companies, the responsibility for complying with CALEA lies with the provider, not the facilities owner. On cable modem services, NCTA said it supports a rulemaking because CALEA in that context “raises complex technical and practical issues.” NCTA said if the Commission eventually decides that cable modem is subject to CALEA, it can do that without abandoning its earlier findings that cable modem is not a telecom service for Communications Act purposes.