MONROE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2004--CenturyTel, Inc.
(NYSE:CTL) chairman and CEO Glen Post addressed the Commerce Committee
of the United States Senate today to discuss regulation of Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) and its impact on the communications
industry. Representing the local telephone industry on a panel
testifying before the committee, Post provided a unique perspective of
the impact VoIP policy could have on consumers in rural communities
and smaller cities. CenturyTel provides communications services to
rural markets and smaller cities throughout 22 states.
"How you and the FCC proceed has critical implications to the
long-term future of this nation's telecommunications infrastructure
and our ability to keep pace with the rest of the world," Post said.
"While crafting new policies needed today, we should seek to avoid
unintended negative consequences for consumers of tomorrow as we open
this new chapter in telecommunications history."
In recent months, the communications industry and key policymakers
have been debating the proper regulatory treatment of VoIP. In
mid-February, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initiated a
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to determine how or if VoIP is
to be regulated. Issues include whether Internet telephony should be
regulated as a telecommunications service or an information service
and whether such regulation, if any, should come from the states or
the FCC. Also at issue is the maintenance and modernization of the
public switched network, and the preservation of the Universal Service
Fund (USF).
Post asked the committee to require VoIP providers to properly
compensate other telephone companies for carrying VoIP traffic. He
stressed that VoIP providers should pay for use of the public switched
telephone network needed to originate and terminate their calls, and
should contribute to the USF which ensures all Americans have access
to affordable communications services.
CenturyTel is utilizing VoIP technology today and believes it will
provide benefits for consumers in the future. Post asked lawmakers to
take a balanced approach and evaluate VoIP in the full context of
competition, universal service, public safety and intercarrier
compensation. He urged the senators to ensure public interest
standards such as 911, homeland security directives and access for
persons with disabilities be required of new providers.
Post also pointed out possible inequities in the present system
that could undermine the public interest. "VoIP service providers
cannot deliver their services without relying on someone else's
network," Post said. "Their ability to operate depends on the
investments companies like CenturyTel have made to bring broadband
connections to rural America. These new providers are not concerning
themselves with the capital-intensive task of building and maintaining
a broadband-capable network that universally serves all customers."
According to Post, if VoIP service providers are allowed to
continue to use the public switched network without paying for it, the
nation's telecommunications infrastructure will be in jeopardy.
"VoIP is an exciting technology that highlights the need for a
broad revisiting of the nation's communications policy," Post said.
"We need to move beyond government-managed competition that rewards
those who make no network investment while handcuffing those who do."
Post was part of a panel that included representatives from
Vonage, Time Warner and the Georgia Public Utilities Commission. The
committee also heard testimony from FCC Chairman Michael Powell and
Senator Lamar Alexander.
CenturyTel, Inc.
provides communications services including local,
long distance, Internet access and data services to more than 3
million customers in 22 states. The company, headquartered in Monroe,
Louisiana, is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol CTL, and is included in the S&P 500 Index. CenturyTel is the
8th largest local exchange telephone company, based on access lines,
in the United States. Visit CenturyTel at www.centurytel.com.
CONTACT: CenturyTel, Inc.
Media:
Patricia Cameron, 318-388-9674
patricia.cameron@centurytel.com
or
Investors:
Tony Davis, 318-388-9525
tony.davis@centurytel.com
SOURCE: CenturyTel, Inc.