robwebb2k

GigaOm is reporting that AT&T has stopped blocking freeconference.com numbers but that “free” call services have cost the telco more than $250 M this year alone. It also seems that AT&T has dropped their lawsuits against the arbitraging telcos and is instead trying to get legislative relief.

The history:

Rural telcos on Iowa and the Dakotas have relationships with businesses that send calls through their networks. Freeconferencecall.com and Freeconference.com have conference bridges that use rural phone numbers in these areas. Users call the numbers, get “free” conference calling, and the call rainmakers and rural telcos get termination fees that come from an antiquated part of the US telecom structure that subsidizes rural telcos for calls that are routed through their areas. The fees are supposed to incentivize rural telco development. A while back AT&T started blocking freeconference.com numbers, then freeconference.com sued AT&T for not paying their bills.

AT&T has now stopped blocking the numbers but is putting on the full-court lobby press. I’m guessing their cries will not fall on deaf ears, although any sort of fee structure jiggering will impact the telecom structure as a whole, not just these arbitrageurs, so any change will be tough to just slide in. Reps from all rural states in Washington will have a lot to say on this one.

Edit:
From freeconference.com today (4/10/07):

Cingular and Qwest Are No Longer Blocking Your Calls!

Based on what Cingular’s Office of the President describes as “an overwhelming response from customers”, they have ceased blocking calls to our service. Qwest has also stopped blocking. This is all due to the loyal support you have shown FreeConference by protesting these carriers’ actions directly. Over 4,000 of you responded to our last note and went directly to the FCC site to register a complaint!

As reported in the LA Times, the FCC has said that ALL call blocking actions will cease until they can permanently resolve these service issues with AT&T/Cingular, Qwest, and Sprint.

Unfortunately, Sprint is still trying to disrupt a few of your conference calls, while hiding behind claims of congestion and busy signals. If you have a story of customer service runarounds with Sprint, please contact us and/or the FCC and remind them that not all carriers have stopped abusing their customers.

To ensure all of your Sprint calls go through, we now routinely include alternate numbers in your confirmation e-mails for scheduled service, and also post numbers that are not blocked for reservationless customers on our site. As a result, most calls are going through and our service has nearly returned to normal.

Your FreeConference Team is dedicated to bringing you simple, convenient and reliable conferencing services at the lowest cost possible. We appreciate your support and look forward to serving you well for years to come.

Your FreeConference Team