Qwest to Offer VoIP

Qwest Communications International Inc. plans to offer Internet-based phone service to the mass market in part of its local territory, chief executive Richard Notebaert said Tuesday.

Speaking at a forum in Arlington, Va., Notebaert said Qwest plans to offer VoIP in Minnesota and possibly Arizona to save on regulatory expenses and other costs, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday.

A federal court recently ruled Minnesota regulators do not have the authority to treat Internet telephone companies, such as Vonage Holdings Corp., the same as traditional phone companies. However, the FCC has yet to rule on how, if at all, to regulate IP phone companies.

“Our objective in offering voice over IP at the mass market level – because we already do it in the enterprise space – will be to explore this path, to take this journey as the path to deregulation,” the Star Tribune quoted Notebaert as saying.

Qwest spokeswoman Kate Varden said she could not offer any details. "We are still developing the strategy and deployment plans." 

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