Earlier today AT&T filed a letter with the FCC requesting that the organization investigate Google for violating telecommunications laws. According to the Washington Post, AT&T is accusing Google Voice of "blocking some calls to rural areas to cut down on network access expenses."
AT&T's accusation is a big deal in the telecommunications industry, because phone operators are required to offer unrestricted access. Google, however, doesn't consider themselves a traditional phone operator, which, if true, would make them exempt from the FCC regulations as they stand.
AT&T's letter is a polite nudge to force the FCC to interject themselves into the equation. Should their letter fall on deaf ears, they plan to follow suit with a formal complaint. In statement to the press on the matter, Robert Quinn, senior vice president for federal regulatory affairs at AT&T, said the following inflammatory words:
"By openly flouting the call blocking prohibition that applies to its competitors, Google is acting in a manner inconsistent with the spirit, if not the letter, of the FCC's fourth principle contained in its Internet Policy Statement,"
"Ironically, Google is also flouting the so-called 'fifth principle of non-discrimination' for which Google has so fervently advocated."
Wasting no time, Google has already publicly responded to AT&T with a blog post titled Response to AT&T's letter to FCC on Google Voice. Here's a snippet from the post that takes AT&T to task for their behavior:
"Google Voice's goal is to provide consumers with free or low-cost access to as many advanced communications features as possible. In order to do this, Google Voice does restrict certain outbound calls from our Web platform to these high-priced destinations. But despite AT&T's efforts to blur the distinctions between Google Voice and traditional phone service, there are many significant differences:
- Unlike traditional carriers, Google Voice is a free, Web-based software application, and so not subject to common carrier laws.
- Google Voice is not intended to be a replacement for traditional phone service -- in fact, you need an existing land or wireless line in order to use it. Importantly, users are still able to make outbound calls on any other phone device.
- Google Voice is currently invitation-only, serving a limited number of users.
AT&T is trying to make this about Google's support for an open Internet, but the comparison just doesn't fly. The FCC's open Internet principles apply only to the behavior of broadband carriers -- not the creators of Web-based software applications. Even though the FCC does not have jurisdiction over how software applications function, AT&T apparently wants to use the regulatory process to undermine Web-based competition and innovation."