US VoIP solutions providers to contribute to telecommunications progress

Interconnected providers of VoIP solutions will be required to collect and remit fees for California's Universal Service Fund under the passing of a new statute.

Passed last week, statute AB 841 is designed to create a subsidy for mobile phone services in rural locations, where existing levels of coverage are typically lower, reports TMCnet.

Now the law is in place, VoIP solutions providers that use the Public Switched Telephone Network will be required to pay a monthly fee for their intrastate revenues.

The legislation does not require the California Public Utilities Commission to prove that individual providers are telecoms corporations in order to impose these charges.

According to recent research from the International Data Corporation, small and medium-sized enterprises in the US are taking a growing interest in VoIP solutions and other unified communications (UC) services.

More than half of mid-size businesses plan to add at least one UC product over the coming year, the study found.