A courtside win for Vonage

The big news today in VoIPland was of the the 8th Circuit Court’s ruling regarding states’ rights in regulating VoIP, upholding a 2004 decision in a court case involving the state of Minnesota and Vonage. Yesterday, the court restated that companies such as Vonage are outside state control and can only be regulated at the federal level.

The decision had VoIP providers in general, and Vonage in particular breathing sighs of relief.

Staci Pies, VON Coalition President, issued a statement on behalf of her coalition (see a member list below) predictably praising the court, which “recognized that the FCC properly embraced the future of VoIP by ensuring it will be free from multiple and inevitably conflicting state jurisdictions. … This decision holds open the promise that VoIP can play a critical role in boosting broadband demand and putting new tools in the hands of American consumers and small businesses... The Court’s decision is a critical step towards unleashing the full economic benefits of VoIP competition…”

Vonage, meanwhile, has got to be happy that a federal court let them win this one after two weeks ago getting dissed in a ruling that will have Vonage Holdings pay $58 million plus 5.5 percent in royalties on future sales due to copyright infringement on Verizon product.

The VON Coalition consists of leading VoIP companies including AccessLine, AT&T, BMX, BT Americas, CallSmart, Cisco, Convedia, Covad, EarthLink, Google, iBasis, i3 Voice and Data, Intel, Intrado, Microsoft, New Global Telecom, Openwave, Pandora Networks, PointOne, Pulver.com, Skype, Switch Business Solutions, T-Mobile USA, United Online, USA Datanet, VocalData, Veraz Networks, and Yahoo!, and seeks to “advance regulatory policies that enable Americans to take advantage of the full promise and potential of VoIP.”