Carriers Begin Neutralizing the Wireless World
AT&T, Verizon, and Google maneuver ahead of looming “Net neutrality” regulations.
The
specter of the FCC’s “Net neutrality” regulations looming over the wireless
Internet
are shaping events unfolding this week.
On
Tuesday, in a turnabout, AT&T said it would allow iPhone owners to use
Internet telephone services such as Skype via its 3G wireless network instead
of just Wi-Fi. This means that people with Internet data plans can cut back on
phone minutes and make near-free international calls via the wireless Internet.
Then,
today, Google and Verizon Wireless agreed to collaborate on phones, PDAs, and
netbooks, creating a mobile-Internet juggernaut based on Google’s open-source
Android mobile operating system. This will pose another big challenge to
AT&T and Apple, which have sold more than 50 million iPhone and iPod Touch
gadgets. Verizon has more than 87 million customers.
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Interestingly,
AT&T’s turnabout came amid an FCC investigation into why Apple rejected
Google Voice, telephony software for the iPhone. But the context is broader
than that: the FCC’s chairman–Obama appointee Julius Genachowski–announced in
a recent speech
that he would propose Net neutrality regulations that would force Internet
services providers to offer equal access to the Web and all of its services and
applications to all customers. Importantly, he made it clear that these
proposed rules would also apply to wireless Internet access. (The actual draft
regulations are due later this month.)
Skype
complained to the FCC two years ago about AT&T blocking its software on
iPhones. The impact could be huge: Skype says its iPhone and iPod Touch
applications have been downloaded six million times.
“These
two recent developments show that the devices are becoming less of a bottleneck
to choosing carriers and applications, meaning that there’s healthy competition
even in the wireless arena,” says Mung
Chiang,
a Princeton electrical engineering professor who is working on broadband access
algorithms.
Today
Genachowski hailed AT&T’s move as “a decision I commend.” Also
citing Verizon’s announcement, he added: “These are both wins for
consumers.”
