FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
O F F IC E O F 
T H E C H A I RMAN 
The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr. 
U.S. House ofRepresentatives 
23 7 Cannon House Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20515 
Dear Congressman Pallone: 
August 27, 2014 
Thank you for your letter commending the Commission's work on allowing 
interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (iVoiP) providers to obtain telephone numbers 
directly from the number administrators, rather than through a carrier partner, and urging the 
Commission to drive this rulemaking to an expeditious conclusion. Your views are very 
important to the process and will be included in the record. 
The Commission has taken significant steps to develop a full record in this proceeding. 
On April18, 2013, the Commission released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Order, 
and Notice of Inquiry (NO I) seeking comment on the proposal to allow iVoiP providers direct 
access to telephone numbers. The comment period for the NPRM ended on August 18, 2013. 
In addition to collecting input from stakeholders and interested parties through public 
comment, the Commission conducted a six-month trial to determine the technical feasibility of 
granting direct access to iVoiP providers. The trial involved five entities and began on June 17, 
2013 . The Wireline Competition Bureau released a Report on the results of the trial to the public 
on January 31 , 2014, and the public was able to comment on the Trial Report until March 3, 
2014. The record collected on both the NPRMINOI and the Trial Report is now being carefully 
reviewed, and the Commission continues to work on this proceeding as expeditiously as 
possible. 
I appreciate your interest in this matter. Please let me know ifl can be of any further 
assistance. 
Sincerely, 
-:;;;;-~ 
Tom Wheeler