• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, October 8, 2009

Twenty members of Congress are backing telecom giant AT&T in its request that the Federal Communications Commission probe Google Voice for blocking calls to rural areas.

In a letter to FCC chair Julius Genachowski, the lawmakers say they are concerned that rural residents will be harmed unless Google follows common carrier principles, which require telecoms to put through all phone calls. "Google maintains it ought to be allowed to block calls to rural telephone exchanges -- a position we find ill conceived and unfair to our rural constituents," states the letter. Signatories include Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), Charlie Melancon (D-La.), John Shimkus (R-Ill.), Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and others.

The bipartisan letter comes two weeks after AT&T complained to the FCC that Google was violating net neutrality principles and common carrier rules by blocking some rural calls.

Google acknowledges blocking some calls, but says that it does so in order to "provide consumers with free or low-cost access to as many advanced communications features as possible." Some rural carriers charge very high rates -- up to 100 times more than large local phone companies -- to connect calls coming from long-distance or wireless numbers.

Google argues that it is not required to follow net neutrality principles because those principles only apply to Internet service providers, not companies such as itself that create Web-based software apps. Google also says it is not required to follow common carrier rules because it's not a traditional phone company. But the lawmakers challenge whether Google is qualified to make that determination. "A company should not be able to evade compliance with important principles of access and competition set forth by the FCC by simply self-declaring it is not subject to them without further investigation," they write.

Rural carriers and the large telecoms have been embroiled in litigation over fees for several years. AT&T, Qwest and others have argued that the rural telcos are driving up revenue by "traffic pumping schemes" that involve partnering with teleconference centers, adult chat lines and the like. Because the rural carriers can charge more, long-distance calls routed through their lines are more expensive.

Meanwhile, some rural carriers have alleged in court that the big telcos are refusing to pay up. A lawyer representing the South Dakota phone companies Northern Valley and Sancom recently complained to the FCC that AT&T's refusal to pay fees is as problematic as Google's refusal to put calls through. "Whether self-help takes the form of call blocking or simply refusing to pay, the law is clear that such conduct is unjustified," Ross Buntrock, an attorney with Arent Fox, wrote.

Google criticized AT&T in a statement, but also called on the FCC to revamp the compensation system. "For AT&T to invoke rural America to seek common carriage regulation of free online applications, while rural carriers say AT&T isn't even paying its bills, is the height of cynicism," the company said. "The fact is, we agree that the FCC needs to fix the current rules for compensating phone carriers."