AT&T to Allow Skype and Google Voice to Operate on Its Mobile Network?

Posted in iPhone News by admin. Published October 7th, 2009

The Washington Post reports that AT&T may be planning to announce support for Skype, Google Voice, and other related Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services over its mobile networks, including via Apple’s iPhone.

One source close to the thinking of AT&T executives said the company has been deliberating the decision for weeks and that top executives have said they were close to accepting voice over Internet services on all AT&T phones, including the iPhone. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because a decision hadn’t been officially announced. Skype currently operates on the iPhone through WiFi access, but not on AT&T’s 3G mobile network.

Apple reportedly rejected a Google Voice iPhone application in late July, sparking an inquiry into the situation from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In its response to the FCC, Apple claimed that it had not formally rejected the application and was still reviewing it, but Google’s response painted a very different picture, claiming that Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller had directly delivered the rejection notice to a Google executive via telephone.

For its part, AT&T noted that it played no role in the specific Google Voice iPhone application review process, although the company’s agreement with Apple does reportedly require that it provide permission for any iPhone functionality to originate or terminate a VoIP connection on its network.

[Thanks: http://www.macrumors.com]

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