Waxman Scrutinizes Traffic Pumping After Google Voice Inquiry

Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and other key House lawmakers have sent letters to the CEOs of top telecom firms, launching a review into "traffic pumping" phone practices. Traffic pumping is the practice of routing conference and adult calls to rural areas, which cost carriers more in fees to connect those calls. Look at this good take by USA Today on the practice.

Waxman; Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), chairman of the Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee; and Bart Stupak, chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, said the review was prompted by an inquiry by the FCC into Google's practice of blocking such calls to rural areas. On Friday, the FCC launched a probe into Google Voice after criticism by AT&T and some lawmakers that the Silicon Valley firm was flouting telecom laws.

Here is the letter to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. The same letter was sent to Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, Qwest CEO Edward Mueller and Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse.