FCC moves on Internet Protocol transition

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Tom Weeler said on Tuesday that the agency would begin "a diverse set of experiments" next year that would begin to move the nation's telephone system from its century-old network of circuits, switches and copper wires to one that transmits phone calls in a manner similar to that used for Internet data.

Wheeler added that he would get a presentation at the December public meeting from the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force, "with the expectation"-perhaps some wiggle room there-that the January meeting would include vote on an order for "immediate action."

AT&T, which has been urging the FCC to move ahead on the experiments, called the announcement "a significant step forward for the industry."

"The transition to broadband and IP services that has already begun is driven by consumers who are moving to the Internet and choosing to connect in ways not imagined just a decade ago," AT&T Vice President Jim Cicconi said. "Like any change it requires planning. The geographic trials directed by Chairman Wheeler will provide the real world answers needed to ensure a seamless transition."

Public Knowledge, a consumer-oriented group, said Mr. Wheeler and the F.C.C. "must ensure that the policies and principles that have guaranteed that the telephone network is universal, accessible and reliable continue to apply to the communications networks of the 21st Century."

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