AT&T, Google trade barbs over Google Voice while FCC listens in

AT&T filed a scathing letter with the FCC earlier today complaining that Google's exhibiting a blatant double standard with Google Voice by blocking customers' access to numbers hosted by carriers that charge higher interconnect fees -- something that's specifically forbidden for traditional telephone carriers under so-called common carrier laws. The argument essentially revolves around the fact that Google's move helps it compete unfairly against AT&T and others by arbitrarily blocking calls to numbers that'd cost it too much to connect, which AT&T says puts Google in an "intellectual contradiction" given its "noisome trumpeting" (ouch!) of support for net neutrality.

It is pretty interesting that Google wants a free, open internet with the left hand while it's blocking certain telephone calls with the other, but Mountain View wasted no time in responding to the communication, posting an quick blog piece where it says there are "many significant differences" that should exempt it from common carrier legislation (some sound reasonable, though the argument that "Google Voice is currently invitation-only, serving a limited number of users" makes us think they're digging pretty deep to come up with reasons they shouldn't have to pony up the cash to get these calls connected).

If there's a bright side to the bickering, it's that both AT&T and Google can agree on one thing: rural carriers' continued ability to charge high connection fees hurts everyone -- it's a "badly flawed" system, in Google's words, and it'd be great if the FCC would do something about it. Whether this whole spat ultimately influenced the outcome of the Google Voice iPhone app debacle is unclear, but it's obvious that AT&T's been stewing about this for a while -- so let it all out, guys, mommy FCC's here for you, and one way or another we suspect GV's going to have to end up going legit if it wants to grow its user base by any significant measure. Check out the gallery for AT&T's letter and follow the read link for Google's shorter, slightly less aggressive response.

AT&T, Google trade barbs over Google Voice while FCC listens in

[lepetitprince Posted Sep 28th 2009 8:44AM]

I say we go ahead and sue AT&T for blocking free service I only this as act of monopoly. I personally think Internet should be free. Oh wait a min. Internet is free. Then I am I paying for 3G data fee? I thought I'm paying for 3g service already. Oh let's together sue tmo vzw and AT&T for charging us data fees. Free the Internet.

Why google has to hear such a faul comment for offer consumer free service? I don't think it's matter of competition bcoz they charging something that should have been free from first place. I think we paying them minimum monthly fee is more of expenses than what they need and deserve.

Google voice help me to use exclusively released iPhone where there's no AT&T coverage using wifi or something. Free google. Free the voice service. Free Internet.

[kgsbca Posted Sep 26th 2009 6:48PM]

ATT might have a case IF google was selling phone service. But if they were smart enough to understand google voice, they would realize that a) GV is free, and b) it is not a service that replaces local phone service. Yes, GV let's you make cheap international calls, but google is not charging people to make phone calls anywhere in the US, so they don't really have any responsibility to connect every call everybody wants.

Regardless of what Apple, google, and ATT say, this episode pretty much shows that ATT is afraid of GV, and they definitely don't want it running on their iphones. But there's little they can do to stop this, as they are too incompetent to recognize the real issues and do something about it. It's ironic, their management's understanding of technology is about as deep as John Sculley's, the former CEO of Apple who almost destroyed the company, because he greatly overestimated his knowledge of technology (he didn't believe Microsoft could deliver a GUI-based OS). ATT doesn't understand google, they don't understand the limitations of wireless broadband, they don't understand that people hate them and often only use their service because they have a virtual monopoly, and it is this ignorance that will eventually doom them, at which point we can all say good riddance.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 27th 2009 6:08PM]

"If there's a bright side to the bickering, it's that both AT&T and Google can agree on one thing: rural carriers' continued ability to charge high connection fees hurts everyone"

Oh heck no... we can't have those small companies that don't have the pricing advantages that the big guys have making prices that allow them to stay in business... if they are lucky... oh heck no. ATT and others will make sure that legislation will be passed to those terrible people that made a huge investment of time and money and are now just trying to survive in the world of ATT... no, no... we will pass law saying those companies should be charging less so thay can lose money and then be bought up by our good loving and benevolent friends at ATT... we know we can trust them with our money... just like we can trust our government with our lives.

Small businesses are un-american and we should do away with them

Hail hail... drink the kool-aid!