Monday, January 17, 2011
Kanawha County Commission And Magic Jack To Battle Before PSC
WEST VIRGINIA....
The Kanawha County Commission's battle to get West Palm Beach, Fla.-based YMAX Communications and a subsidiary, Magic Jack, to collect and pay 911 fees will go before the state Public Service Commission on March 1st. Commission President Kent Carper says Magic Jack is not paying a penny, and their position is they don't have to. In filings with the PSC, Magic Jack asserts it doesn't have to pay the 911 fees because the company is not a "voice-over-Internet" provider, and it's unable to collect the fees because of the way its products are sold. The company alleges it's not an Internet telephone company as defined by the Federal Communications Commission. The federal agency defines voice-over-Internet providers as those that offer a "single service" that allow customers to receive and make calls. Magic Jack and YMAX say they offer two separate services, a "magicIn" service for getting a phone number and receiving calls, and a "magicOut" program for outgoing calls. Billy Jack Gregg, the PSC's former consumer advocate who was hired as a consultant by the Kanawha County Commission, testified that YMAX and Magic Jack customers don't have the option of selecting separate services. Carper says Magic Jack's refusal to collect and pay 911 fees affects the county emergency operations center's ability to serve the public.
The Kanawha County Commission's battle to get West Palm Beach, Fla.-based YMAX Communications and a subsidiary, Magic Jack, to collect and pay 911 fees will go before the state Public Service Commission on March 1st. Commission President Kent Carper says Magic Jack is not paying a penny, and their position is they don't have to. In filings with the PSC, Magic Jack asserts it doesn't have to pay the 911 fees because the company is not a "voice-over-Internet" provider, and it's unable to collect the fees because of the way its products are sold. The company alleges it's not an Internet telephone company as defined by the Federal Communications Commission. The federal agency defines voice-over-Internet providers as those that offer a "single service" that allow customers to receive and make calls. Magic Jack and YMAX say they offer two separate services, a "magicIn" service for getting a phone number and receiving calls, and a "magicOut" program for outgoing calls. Billy Jack Gregg, the PSC's former consumer advocate who was hired as a consultant by the Kanawha County Commission, testified that YMAX and Magic Jack customers don't have the option of selecting separate services. Carper says Magic Jack's refusal to collect and pay 911 fees affects the county emergency operations center's ability to serve the public.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 8:15 PM 
