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That screeching sound you heard Tuesday from AT&T (NYSE: T) headquarters in Dallas was the company hitting the brakes and reversing itself regarding a portion of its iPhone policy.
AT&T announced that it would support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications on its 3G network for use with the ultra-popular Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) smartphone. Before Tuesday's announcement, AT&T would only support VoIP apps like Skype and Vonage on the iPhone if users were within range of a WiFi network. That was despite the fact that those apps could be used on other handsets connected to the company's 2G and 3G networks.
With the policy shift, iPhone users can now save money by taking the ability to make Web-powered Skype calls with them.
"iPhone is an innovative device that dramatically changed the game in wireless when it was introduced just two years ago," AT&T executive Ralph de la Vega said Tuesday. "Today's decision was made after evaluating our customers' expectations and use of the device compared to dozens of others we offer."
That may indeed be the case. However, AT&T is also squarely in the glare of a spotlight manned by new Federal Communications Commission leaders, who are looking into Apple's denial of a Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Voice iPhone app and are being asked to reject exclusive partnerships between handset makers and carriers.
What It Means for the iPhone
AT&T has notified both Apple and the FCC of its reversal. Asked whether it's required to notify regulators of any changes in handset/carrier policy, company spokesperson Michael Coe told TechNewsWorld the subject of VoIP apps came up during the summer, when the FCC asked AT&T a series of questions about Google Voice, as well as its relationship with Apple and the App Store.
"While it's our understanding that Google Voice is not a VoIP service, we provided an overview of our iPhone VoIP policy," Coe explained. "We also told them that we planned to take a fresh look at possibly authorizing VoIP capabilities on the iPhone for use on AT&T's network, and that we'd update them regarding any change in policies."
AT&T customers could already use VoIP services over its wireless network on other carrier-supported phones, Coe reiterated.
AT&T's reversal opens the door to other possible VoIP use of the iPhone besides that provided by Skype and Vonage. "We are very happy that AT&T is now supporting VoIP applications," Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris told TechNewsWorld. "We will be amending our developer agreements to get VoIP apps on the App Store and in customers' hands as soon as possible."
Did AT&T Blink?
Tuesday's decision from AT&T was not the tip of the iceberg reflecting a new attiude from wireless carriers, observed Chris Riley, policy counsel for Free Press -- a consumer advocacy group that has spent a good part of this year arguing against Skype blockage and handset exclusivity deals.
"The FCC's letters to Google, Apple and AT&T a few weeks back to get more details from them on why Google Voice was blocked -- THAT was the tip of the iceberg," Riley told TechNewsWorld.
"That was the FCC sending strong signals that there are some things going on here, with them saying, 'We're the cop on the beat, we're watching it, we're going to do what we need to do to get consumer protection in these markets.'"
New FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's late September speech -- announcing he would seek to make Net neutrality guidelines official governmental policy applicable to the wireless industry -- represented another salvo from the regulatory agency.
Whether this signals the beginning of the end for handset exclusivity, Riley wouldn't say -- but he does see "the industry capitulating and doing what they can to slow the inertia, to avoid having any rules set out for their behavior.
"That's what this AT&T move was," he concluded. "That was AT&T saying they get it. They're going to stop anticompetitive blocking of VoIP services, because the FCC's paying attention now."
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