AT&T's FaceTime fiasco: net neutrality concerns spark a backlash
AT&T's recent decision require a Mobile Share plan to access FaceTime over cellular caused a significant outcry from net neutrality supporters Public Knowledge and Free Press, which claim that the company's policy violates the FCC's Open Internet rules. Despite appeals from both groups, AT&T's senior vice president of regulatory affairs Bob Quinn has vocally defended the carrier's position, and denies the claim that the policy violates FCC rules. Here's the latest on what may turn out to be an important battle for the future of wireless net neutrality in the United States.
AT&T says 'any' mobile video chat app will work on its network by the end of 2013
When Google Hangouts first launched, we noted that AT&T Android customers couldn't use its video chat capabilities on a cellular network. A statement from AT&T implied that video chat could be used on downloaded apps (like the iOS Hangouts app), but that Google would need to work with AT&T to enable it for pre-loaded apps, which Hangouts for Android technically is. Now, AT&T has given another statement, suggesting that we could see an across-the-board approval of video chat apps by the end of...
Thousands of angry AT&T customers speak out as Free Press pushes for net neutrality
AT&T recently made FaceTime calling available to all eligible customers on tiered data plans, but advocacy group Free Press remains unimpressed with the move. Immediately after AT&T announced it would expand support for Apple's video calling protocol, Free Press lambasted the carrier for not opening access to its entire customer base — including unlimited data subscribers. Now the organization is urging AT&T's customers to tell the company how they really feel, and Free Press is even giving...
AT&T staves off net neutrality complaint by giving another inch, but it's not fooling anyone
AT&T announced today that it would be gracious enough to let some more of its users — including those without LTE — to enjoy FaceTime over cellular, as the spirit of net neutrality rules require. But it's just the latest half-measure the company has taken to rectify an issue that groups like Public Knowledge and Free Press have argued all along: that AT&T simply has no right to arbitrarily decide how its customers may use the data they pay for from an ISP. So far the FCC has been...
AT&T adds support for FaceTime on iPhone 4S and other non-LTE devices
AT&T has once again loosened the reins on using Apple's FaceTime service: it's now allowing customers on any compatible device — not just LTE-capable ones — to video chat while on a mobile network. Over the next couple of weeks, the company will start rolling out the option to people with compatible iOS devices like the 4S, so long as they're on tiered plans rather than grandfathered unlimited ones; the entire expansion is supposed to take a few months, however.
FaceTime has been a point...
AT&T briefly extends FaceTime over cellular to unlimited data users before disabling it again (update)
Last week, AT&T slightly loosened its restrictions that previously required iPhone users to who wanted to use FaceTime over cellular networks to be on a Mobile Share data plan — the carrier said that iOS users with an LTE device and a tiered data plan would be able to use the feature. However, we have confirmed that some iPhone users with grandfathered unlimited data plans are also able to make FaceTime calls over cellular networks, corroborating earlier reports. Strangely enough, AT&T said...
AT&T's flip-flop on FaceTime over cellular should scare you
Weeks after taking enormous heat from consumers, public interest groups, and the media (like us), AT&T is doing an about-face on its controversial decision to limit iOS 6's support for FaceTime over cellular to its new, pricier Mobile Share plans. That's great, but don't give AT&T an ounce of credit — the move is mysteriously taking eight to ten weeks to implement, and it's merely restoring functionality that should've been present from day one. It also would've never happened had...
AT&T loosens FaceTime restrictions, allows some iPhone 5 and iPad users to video chat over LTE
AT&T just announced that it is easing some of the restrictions it placed on the iPhone's FaceTime feature — now, iOS 6 users with an LTE-capable device will be able to use FaceTime over cellular, as long as they're using a tiered data plan. Specifically, compatible devices include the iPhone 5 as well as the third- and fourth-generation iPad and the iPad mini. Unfortunately, it seems that those with grandfathered data plans are out of luck.
Things haven't changed for all of the other...
FCC will review objections to AT&T's FaceTime blocking, 'exercise our responsibilities' if necessary
The FCC has yet to comment on AT&T's decision to limit FaceTime over cellular connections, but in remarks made today at Vox Media's offices in Washington, DC, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski suggested that the agency would review complaints about the service. Genachowski said that he couldn't comment specifically on AT&T at this time, but that if a good-faith effort to resolve the issue "doesn't lead to a resolution and a complaint is filed, we will exercise our responsibilities and we will...
AT&T's FaceTime blocking draws formal complaint to FCC from interest groups
Free Press, Public Knowledge, and the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute have announced plans to file a formal complaint with the FCC over AT&T's decision to block FaceTime for some customers. It's not a surprising move — Free Press, Public Knowledge, and other groups blasted AT&T over its new FaceTime policy last month, with Free Press claiming that the carrier's "decision to block FaceTime unless a customer pays for voice and text minutes she doesn't need is a clear...
Vodafone UK mimics AT&T by requiring custom plans for FaceTime over 3G
iPhone 5 users on Vodafone’s network in the UK may have to upgrade their service plan in order to use FaceTime over 3G, echoing a similar move by AT&T. According to Wired UK, Vodafone will require customers to have a VoIP add-on for their plan in order to use Apple's video calling service over a cellular network, a new feature in iOS 6. If customers don't already have VoIP support, they'll have to adopt a newer service plan or pay an additional fee to add VoIP to their existing plan. Any...
Verizon will allow FaceTime over cellular for no additional charge
One of the long-awaited features in iOS 6 is the ability to make FaceTime calls over a cellular connection, and Verizon isn't planning to limit it in the slightest. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that iPhone users on Big Red will be able to use the feature no matter what flavor of data plan they may be using, for no additional charge. The position stands in stark contrast to that of rival AT&T, which sparked a still-ongoing controversy when it announced that its customers would only be...
Internet groups blast AT&T's effort to justify FaceTime blocking
AT&T posted a pointed justification of its decision to place restrictions on FaceTime over cellular earlier today, with the carrier's VP of regulatory affairs saying that people "rushed to judgement" on their possible violation of the FCC's Open Internet regulations — but internet groups have already responded critically to AT&T's predictable defense. John Bergmayer from internet advocacy group Public Knowledge says that "the FCC's Open Internet rules do not distinguish between pre-loaded...
AT&T responds predictably to FaceTime controversy, says claims of FCC violations are 'another knee jerk reaction'
AT&T's outspoken senior vice president of regulatory affairs Bob Quinn is coming out with guns blazing on the outcry over the company's recently-announced restrictions on FaceTime over cellular, saying that interest group Public Knowledge and others have "rushed to judgment" on their possible infringement of the FCC's relatively mild Open Internet regulations that apply to mobile. In many ways, it's exactly the line we expected AT&T to take.
Quinn's post, a seven-paragraph missive that seems...
Free Press reacts to AT&T's FaceTime policy, urges you to petition the FCC
AT&T's decision to only allow Mobile Share plan subscribers access to Apple's FaceTime over cellular has caused quite a ruckus amongst net neutrality advocates. Shortly after Public Knowledge issued a statement saying that the carrier is "violating the FCC's Open Internet Rules," Free Press has taken action and urges citizens to sign a petition directed at the Federal Communications Commission, which reads as follows:
Dear FCC Commissioners,
AT&T just announced it’s blocking the FaceTime...
AT&T's hostile FaceTime restrictions barely skirt FCC Open Internet rules
Washington DC-based interest group Public Knowledge issued a brief press release this afternoon stating its displeasure with AT&T's decision to limit FaceTime over cellular — a new feature in iOS 6 — to subscribers choosing its new Mobile Share plans, arguing that the company is "violating the FCC's Open Internet rules." Here's the full statement from senior staff attorney John Bergmayer:
By blocking FaceTime for many of its customers, AT&T is violating the FCC's Open Internet rules....
AT&T only allowing FaceTime over cellular on Mobile Share plans, no extra charge
AT&T has cleared the air this afternoon on its policies for FaceTime over cellular, saying that a Mobile Share plan will be required to use it — but it won't incur an extra charge apart from normal data usage. The feature, which is new in iOS 6, had caused controversy several weeks ago when it was revealed that beta builds appeared to block the service on AT&T's network by default, suggesting that the carrier might be looking to buck the tenets of net neutrality by tacking on an extra...
AT&T may charge for FaceTime calls over 3G
Apple's FaceTime video chat service may have been Wi-Fi-only since its inception, but that means it's also been free all along. This could change come the launch of iOS 6, however — the introduction of FaceTime calling over 3G could well be accompanied by charges for the first time. 9to5Mac has acquired screenshots from the recently-released iOS 6 beta 3 that seem to show FaceTime over cellular networks requiring activation (read: a contract bolt-on) in a similar way to the Personal Hotspot...
