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H.R. 4129 · 108th Congress

VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004

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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 108th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

5 cosponsors · 5 R

0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.

VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004 - Reserves solely to the Federal Government the responsibility and authority to regulate the offering or provision of a voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) application (an application that uses the Internet or any successor protocol to offer two-way or multidirectional voice communications).

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Apr 2, 2004

VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004 - Reserves solely to the Federal Government the responsibility and authority to regulate the offering or provision of a voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) application (an application that uses the Internet or any successor protocol to offer two-way or multidirectional voice communications). Prohibits State regulation, or delegation to States, of such authority.

Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: (1) establish rules and standards for appropriate arrangements to compensate providers of facilities and equipment used to transmit communications employing a connected VoIP application; and (2) maximize participation in the support of universal service among the greatest number of providers of connected VoIP applications. Requires such providers to assist the Federal Government in enforcement actions.

Requires the FCC to appoint an appropriate representative industry organization to develop guidelines, protocols, or performance requirements pertaining to the offering or provision of connected VoIP applications for: (1) providing comparable capabilities to 911 services; (2) improving use by the disabled community; (3) improving reliability of VoIP applications; and (4) ensuring appropriate security for the application and voice communications.

Prohibits a State or political subdivision from imposing a tax or other charge on the offering or provision of a VoIP application.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004

Latest action (Apr 8, 2004): Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications · Origin: House · Introduced: Apr 2, 2004

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.