AT&T Claims Google Voice Violates Net Neutrality
AT&T Claims Google Voice Violates Net Neutrality
Posted 09/25/2009 at 5:03pm
| by Ryan Whitwam
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AT&T has sent a rather pointed letter to the FCC accusing Google of violating Network Neutrality standards. No, that isn’t a typo. AT&T’s beef is that Google Voice will not connect calls to some numbers that traditional telecoms are required to connect. This is because of so-called “common carrier” laws.
Some rural local telephone carriers charge long distance companies extremely high fees to connect calls to certain numbers on their networks. These are usually numbers for conference call centers, adult chat lines, or party lines. Sneakily, revenues from these connections are shared with the owners of the lines. Google Voice does not connect these calls, and AT&T thinks that isn’t fair.
It is interesting that Google, a company that strongly supports Net Neutrality, is taking this course of action. AT&T seems to want them to be treated like any other telecom, but in Google’s response, they lay out their rationale for why AT&T should shut it.
Google says that first and foremost, Google Voice is a free service. To make it workable, they simply cannot spend money to connect those calls. They also say that Google Voice is software, and software isn’t covered by common carriers rules. Finally, they claim that since Google Voice is an invite-only beta service, it doesn’t need to comply with all regulations.
So, is this just AT&T trying to distract the FCC, or is Google really in the wrong here?
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CorbanT
September 26, 2009 at 5:01pm
Maybe AT&T is just trying to put it's weight against Google given the recent conflict between Apple and Google over Google Voice.
I mean, regardless of what AT&T really thinks, AT&T wouldn't want to jeopardize their relationship with Apple. In the end, I'd say it's all politics.
I Jedi
September 26, 2009 at 1:54pm
... As one user on TechCrunch put it,"You can't divide Net Neutrality into Black and White."
MeTo
September 26, 2009 at 8:51am
Since when is AT&T a court of law. AT&T if this is true sue Google and let a judge decide. In America you are innocent till proven guilty.
TechJunkie
September 25, 2009 at 9:55pm
AT&T is just upset at the fact that GV circumvents AT&T's proprietary monolithic way of thinking....that if your using GV, your not using AT&T's software, or airtime for that matter. Your using data as GV uses a beta form of a cellular VoIP. So using data as voice instead of actual airtime, there would be little chance of you going over your minutes and them charging you out the ass. AT&T doesn't like them odds. SO AT&T...I'm glad I'm with sprint because I can call all the cell users in your network and run thier minutes up every day of the year and it won't cost me one red cent! Take that you commie bastards! ;)
Ryan Whitwam
September 25, 2009 at 10:45pm
That's not actually correct. GV is not VoIP. It still uses your minutes, it just connects to a Google number as a middleman. That lets you do all the cool stuff GV does.
And it's not AT&T's software, it's Apple's. Apple rejected GV.
Tekzel
September 25, 2009 at 6:31pm
My default answer is always that AT&T is in the wrong, no matter what it is they are involved in. If ever there were a company that is heart of darkness, it is AT&T. In fact, I am convinced that their board of directors is a bunch of demons, and the chairman is Beelzebub himself.
johnny3144
September 26, 2009 at 11:18am
you havn't seen canada's carrier... if you have, AT&T is like a saint. not saying they are a saint when compare to carriers from state thou.
1337Goose
September 25, 2009 at 6:55pm
I don't have AT&T in my area, but from what I've been able to collect from MaxPC and a few of my buddies in the states, AT&T is some sort of pseudo-cell provider that never works just the way you need it to when you need it to. Can somebody confirm or deny?
~Goose
tri8gman
September 26, 2009 at 11:09am
I use a Samsung Epix to start. I find that the handset people use has a WHOLE LOT to do with their service quality, in addition to the area they live in. I've been back and forth betweeen South Jersey and the middle of Delaware a couple times and had at least OK service if I didn't have great service. I'd also say I'm a very heavy data user, using the phone to get email off multiple accounts, remote back to a home server, and browse the web frequently. The only problems I've seemed to have are losing media connectivity after an hour of straight downloading (the handset might be to blame as this actually makes it quite warm) and a couple billing errors when modifying my plan (which were quickly and easily fixed).
As for the article, I take Google's side as they are not the ones in charge of infrastructure and providing direct service. Google's services rely on others.
Ryan Whitwam
September 25, 2009 at 7:14pm
I've had AT&T for quite a while. While the service has gone down in quality since the iPhone craze, it's still mostly fine in my area. Though the cost is a bit out of control for what you get.
I have an HTC Hero on pre-order... we'll see how that goes.
1337Goose
September 25, 2009 at 7:20pm
I've been looking into the Hero!
Let me know how that goes, I want to know if it can replace my Bold. I'm sick of my Bold.
~Goose
nekollx
September 25, 2009 at 5:06pm
it's ATT deflecting
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