RE: ISP License in the USA?

[Ryan Finnesey <ryan () finnesey com>]

Would you mind sharing some of the telecommunications focused law firms?  I am about to start a company that is going 
back into the CLEC/ISP/VoIP Business and I am going to have to establish relationships with a few law firms.

-----Original Message-----
From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-bounces () nanog org] On Behalf Of Eric Flanery (eric)
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2016 2:55 PM
Cc: NANOG list <nanog () nanog org>
Subject: Re: ISP License in the USA?

There is no such thing as an 'ISP license' in the US. I have a hard time imagining Texas of all places would have such 
a requirement.

Depending on what exactly you are doing, there are various and highly varied requirements, such as acquiring a SPIN 
number for E-Rate, filing FCC
477 if you do broadband, FCC 499 if you do VoIP (CLEC and ETC also apply there), a FRN if you do pretty much anything 
FCC-related, various sorts of licenses for most radio/microwave systems (excepting part 15 stuff), CALEA, open 
internet, etc...

COALS _could_ apply _if_ you are running a cable TV system that also delivers data services, but it isn't an 'ISP 
thing'.

More to the point...

I wouldn't take US legal advice from any consultant not familiar with US law, or really any non-lawyer consultant at 
all. I wouldn't take it from NANOG either; while it's a tremendous technical resource, it is not your attorney.

There are a number of telecommunications focused law firms out there, with knowledgeable lawyers. It would be a good 
idea to establish a relationship with one, if you intend to enter the increasingly complex legal minefield of being an 
ISP.

--Eric

On Tue, May 31, 2016 at 11:24 AM, Dan White <dwhite () olp net> wrote:

> Not familiar with the process, but look at E-rate if you want to 
> provide service to schools, libraries and health providers.
>
>
> On 05/31/16 13:14 -0500, Lorell Hathcock wrote:
>
> > NANOG:
> >
> > Our owner has hired a consultant who insists that we should have an 
> > ISP license to operate in the United States.  (Like they have in 
> > other countries like Germany and in Africa where he has extensive 
> > personal experience.)
> >
> > I am asking him to tell me which license we should have because I 
> > don't know of a license that we are required to have to route IP 
> > traffic to end customers.
> >
> > I am familiar with CLEC status filed with our state.  But it is not a 
> > requirement to pass traffic.
> >
> > He is suggesting COALS with which I am completely unfamiliar.
> >
> > Can anyone tell me if there is a Texas state and/or USA Federal 
> > license for a small operator to pass IP traffic from the internet to 
> > end users (commercial and/or residential).
> >
> > I am aware that there are some CALEA requirements of ISPs that seem 
> > to kick in once a CALEA request is made, but is that different from a 
> > license.
>
> --
> Dan White
> BTC Broadband