By JENNIFER C. KERR Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators on Friday extended a disconnection deadline that could have left tens of thousands of people without their Internet phone service next week.
The Federal Communications Commission said it would delay a Monday deadline for providers of Internet-based phone calls to get acknowledgments from their customers that they understand the problems they may encounter when dialing 911 in an emergency.
Providers of the phone service, known as Voice over Internet Protocol or "VoIP," had been told by the FCC that they should disconnect service by Tuesday to people who had not responded.
But in Friday's notice, the agency said the deadline would be extended to Sept. 28 for the providers to get their acknowledgments. If by that time a provider still has not received confirmation from a customer, then the company should disconnect a customer's phone service, according to the FCC order.
The agency gave companies the option of turning off regular Internet phone service to a client, but still allowing emergency calls to 911 to be made. As part of this so-called "soft" disconnect, a provider could also allow customers to place non-911 calls that would automatically be sent to the company's customer service center.
The agency's decision to extend the cutoff deadline follows a letter from a coalition of VoIP providers, including AT&T and MCI, who complained that customers would be left stranded in an emergency come Tuesday. More than 30,000 people could have been left with no service at all.
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