VoIP Provider Files Net Neutrality Complaint Against a Government Utility

UPDATE 5/23/12: TRDaily reported today that they've been unable to find the threatened complaint. So far, no official complaints have been filed with the FCC under its Open Internet regulations. ————————————————————————————————————————————————

Irony of ironies: The very first complaint filed with the FCC under its Open Internet rules comes from an innovative VoIP provider against a government-owned municipal utility:

A Florida VoIP carrier has filed a net neutrality complaint against a Georgia utility and broadband provider, after the utility accused the VoIP firm of theft of service for using its network to deliver voice service without paying for it.

via VoIP Provider Files Net Neutrality Complaint With FCC | PCWorld Business Center.

At David Isenberg’s Freedom To Connect conference in Washington this week, advocates of Internet Openness Susan Crawford, Vint Cerf, and Michael Copps have been touting a public utility model of network ownership while real public utilities are stifling real innovation in the real world. Don't look too close. This case mirrors the Madison River complaint that led the FCC to adopt its initial Internet Policy Statement in 20006, except that the rural phone company that has committed the alleged offense in this case is publicly owned.