In what should not be overlooked, SBC IP, the VoIP division of telecom giant SBC wants to sidestep state licenses and get numbers directly from the NANPA.
There is more to this than just bypassing the regulators, as it means SBC wants to go head to head with AT&T and the other “national” players liek Vonage who have pulled together a national footprint in the VoIP market to be able to offer local numbers.
This is a hot issue and one that needs to be carefully watched as SBC is seeking to change the landscape of telephony and IP based communications.