Are the days of flat-rate local calls to Internet service providers drawing to an end?
The answer appears to be no, despite federal regulators’ decision today that a call to an ISP should be treated as long distance. The Federal Communication Commission ruled that an otherwise local call to an Internet service provider should be treated as an interstate transmission, since much of the traffic ultimately goes out onto the Net at large. But the commissioners were quick to say that the decision would only affect contracts between individual telephone companies–and not the prices paid by individual Internet users. “[Our decision] doesn’t affect the way consumers get dialup access to the Internet,” said FCC chairman William Kennard during today’s meeting. “Nothing we’re doing here should be construed as regulating the Internet.” Kennard went further in a later statement on the issue, reaffirming the Commission’s intention to shield Net users from regulation that might raise prices or dramatically change the way companies charge for Net access. “Those employing scare tactics
