FCC to investigate AT&T (and Apple) over Skype blockage?
The Skype vs. Telcos situation is rapidly coming to a head, both in Europe and now in the US. The Wall St. Journal reports:
The open-Internet advocacy group Free Press asked the Federal Communications Commission Friday to investigate whether Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. are violating federal rules by blocking the use of a new low-cost Skype voice service on Apple iPhones that use AT&T's 3G network...
Wireless providers, such as Clearwire Corp., have successfully argued they should be able to prevent customers from using some bandwidth-hogging Internet services, like file-sharing, because their wireless networks have capacity issues.
But does Apple really care?
Perhaps they won't be able to get the kind of subsidy money from AT&T that they currently enjoy? If no one wants to pay $50 month for voice when they can get the same service from Skype for about a tenth of the price, AT&T is going to lose some revenue. But that is the lone downside. There are many upsides.
The upshot for Apple is that their iPhone products could be that much cooler if you could effectively have two or more phone lines connected to your iPhone via VoIP. Or make SIP calls as a value add. Hey, why not iChat voice calls. Or video? Or make reasonably priced international and roaming calls. etc. etc.
In either case, it is AT&T that has everything to lose in this situation. Apple will happily do whatever the FCC makes them do without suffering any consequences to its bottom line.
The end result if the FCC makes AT&T carry Skype calls (and forces them to sell data only plans) will likely be that data will be made to cost more to cover the expenses.
IT would be really nice if Apple just sold an open iPhone and let its customers figure out the best Data and/OR voice plan they wanted.
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Comments (19)
"IT would be really nice if Apple just sold an open iPhone and let its customers figure out the best Data and/OR voice plan they wanted."
I hear that argument a lot. In reality, I don't think the consumer would benefit because the telco will probably still raise the cost of the data and you will have to pay more for the phone to begin with. I don't have access to all the info, but I'd love to see a comparison of the current model and one where you pay for a non-subsidized phone, data contract and skype (or other VOIP). I could just look at AT&T's site and figure it out, but again, I think their rates on data will be much higher if they get cut out of the voice.
I would be very happy if I could buy an iPhone without a contract or plan. I can use Wifi and GPS for everything I do. An iPod touch, as nice as it is, just doesn't cut it.
It might have the opposite effect in terms of pricing...
Maybe ATT will have to lower their voice plan price?
But then again, having AIM on a phone didn't love the price of SMS...
With the ubiquity of WiFi (esp for me, since 90% of my time is spent between home and work, both having WifI), I've been wondering if an iPod Touch with Skype (and AIM for SMS) would be almost as good as a cell phone (once push notifications are available). Of course, having a pay-as-you-go cell to leave in the car as a backup wouldn't be a horrible idea.
I had a 10 year old car-powered bag phone with no cellular plan through Cingular (or whatever it was called 10 years ago) for emergencies ONLY through most of my college years and I got by just fine. I'm considering trying the iPod Touch experiment just to see if I can do it.
I don't see it work as an emergency phone unless you got wifi in your car.
Imagine this combination: A plan/contract-less iPhone with installed pre-pay SIM card which you use sparingly (for when you are on the road), and use Skype at home and work via Wifi. You would have GPS and a camera as well. Waaaayyyyy better than an iPod touch. I just called AT&T yesterday to inquire about the possibility of this. But they do not sell an iPhone without a contract. They will give you a one month trial though. My next question for them is once I have bought the one month trial and have an iPhone in my hand - can I cancel without sending the iPhone back? I have to call again to ask.
Same battle with DSL and voice. They charge more when you don't get voice. It is cheaper to have a aircard and pay skype for a number than to have an iPhone plan. My wife and I use text messaging and email more since we got our iPhones, and my wife does because she doesn't get voice calls going through reliably, our family members added texting to their sprint plans to communicate with her instead of her voicemail. iPod touch +skype+ sprint + cradlepoint is getting more reasonable price to pay for more freedom. Once there is a CDMA iPhone, things will settle down a bit, I think. I hope.
"Once there is a CDMA iPhone, things will settle down a bit, I think. I hope."
Please don't get your hopes up too high. The iPhone is being sold in over 80 different countries now...with no real demand for CDMA outside the US I doubt there ever will be a demand large enough to justify developing a new phone. Telstra, the largest telco in Australia, dumped their CDMA network in 2008 in favor of a 4G network.
Outside the US, CDMA went the way of betamax years ago.
Interesting argument, Beta was the superior format back then, consumers chose VHS because it was cheaper and they were ignorant of it's inferiority.
"Once there is a CDMA iPhone, things will settle down a bit, I think. I hope."
Please don't get your hopes up too high. The iPhone is being sold in over 80 different countries now...with no real demand for CDMA outside the US I doubt there ever will be a demand large enough to justify developing a new phone. Telstra, the largest telco in Australia, dumped their CDMA network in 2008 in favor of a 4G network.
Outside the US, CDMA went the way of betamax years ago.
"Once there is a CDMA iPhone, things will settle down a bit, I think. I hope."
Please don't get your hopes up too high. The iPhone is being sold in over 80 different countries now...with no real demand for CDMA outside the US I doubt there ever will be a demand large enough to justify developing a new phone. Telstra, the largest telco in Australia, dumped their CDMA network in 2008 in favor of a 4G network.
Outside the US, CDMA went the way of betamax years ago.
In the US, the iPhone is locked to AT&T. I pay AT&T a certain amount a month for a data and voice plan. If I use Skype over their data line, aren't I already paying AT&T?
I don't know how much performance AT&Ts 3G network has. VoIP takes a lot of bandwidth. Could be a problem.
VoIP actually doesn't take a lot of bandwidth. Even Skype's high quality can be had over EDGE. The big factor in VOIP quality is a good connection with limited lost packets and low latency...something that unfortunately isn't all that common with wireless telcos.
voip may or may not take a lot of bandwidth. 3g operators around the world offer live tv, unlimited web use via netbooks and video calling, so skype really doesn't strike me as any more data intensive than that. plus, people are paying at&t for unlimited data - and they're not getting what they're paying for.
voip may or may not take a lot of bandwidth. 3g operators around the world offer live tv, unlimited web use via netbooks and video calling, so skype really doesn't strike me as any more data intensive than that. plus, people are paying at&t for unlimited data - and they're not getting what they're paying for.
it's not that VoIP takes a lot of bandwidth but the fact that at&t doesn't want you using a another Call company through their MOBILE service NOT WIFI. They want you to use your minutes, in hopes that you go over and they get to charge their premium for going over. It's all business, not personal. Conflict of interest sets in. The thing is, is that if the FCC singles the iPhone out, then what do you with all the other phones and companies that have a Skype app like this on their phone? Apple made it very clear in the license agreement no VoIP over the CELLULAR Network, but they will allow it over WIFI. AT&T can't stop that because you might be paying a different provider. So all this Skype crying is all nonsense. Its AT&T business, respect that, we don't need the government telling our businesses what they can, and can't do further more. So all these articles are just fillers for the slow news press out there.
Well not to get political, but your obviously a republican!
If we demand no respect and do right from out government then we get what we got! If we stop a second and let the big O make them accountable for actions, we might actually get some trust back in this country for our government...its gotta start somewhere!
And no one is crying, its illegal to not allow certain things connection with the internet if you are offering internet!
You are obviously retarded
AT&T should begin thinking of itself as a wireless network provider instead of a cell phone company. AT&T needs a data-only plan for iPhones (and other kinds of devices).
If AT&T concentrated on getting its cellular bandwidth up, then that would begin to open up all kinds of possibilities... such as high-speed residential internet, high-speed mobile internet, data carrier of choice for VoIP, mobile internet radio (similar to satellite in cars), etc.
Enabling these kinds of possibilities would be much more lucrative for AT&T than protecting its 'voice' business model.