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AT&T has defended its block on iPhone users running FaceTime over its 3G network. It’s a decision that may follow the precise letter of net neutrality rules but certainly doesn’t pay much heed to the principle.
The comments come as the company announces it will let users run FaceTime over the phone network if they are on Mobile Share, its new plans that give a fixed amount of data across multiple handsets. Those on older plans, including those with “unlimited” data packages, are stuck with FaceTime being Wi-Fi only.
Bob Quinn, the AT&T official in charge of regulatory matters, says the block is perfectly within Federal Communications Commissions rules, meeting two specific requirements for mobile broadband firms. Firstly, he says AT&T is making its policies clear and open as required.
Secondly, he claims that restrictions on who can and can’t use an app, and in what way, are not relevant in this case because the rules only cover downloaded apps and not those that come preloaded such as FaceTime.
Whether that’s the case is highly debatable: there doesn’t seem to be any mention of a distinction between downloaded and preloaded apps in the regulations that the FCC has published.
Even if such a loophole does exist, it doesn’t change the fact that AT&T’s policy is a flagrant violation of the principle of net neutrality. If you’re on an older AT&T iPhone deal and you’re out of Wi-Fi range, you can use your Internet connection to visit Blorge as many times as you like, but you can’t make a FaceTime call. That’s a clear breach of the idea of treating all data the same and is about as valid as the Post Office charging extra to carry a letter written in French.
And while AT&T is indeed extending access to FaceTime over 3G, that arguably makes things worse. Before it was just a case of saying “Want to use FaceTime but not on WiFi? Screw you.”
Now it’s “Want to use FaceTime on 3G? Upgrade to a new contract that may well cost you more money and/or extend your commitment period.” That’s breaching the principle of net neutrality in order to make profit. And that’s bullshit.
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