NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Why The FCC Wants To Smash Open The iPhone
----- Forwarded message from David Farber <dave@farber.net> ----- Date: Sun, 2 Aug 2009 10:40:02 -0400 From: David Farber <dave@farber.net> Subject: [IP] Re: Why The FCC Wants To Smash Open The iPhone Reply-To: dave@farber.net To: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com> Begin forwarded message: From: dewayne@warpspeed.com (Dewayne Hendricks) Date: August 1, 2009 11:41:28 AM EDT To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy@warpspeed.com> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Why The FCC Wants To Smash Open The iPhone Why The FCC Wants To Smash Open The iPhone by Erick Schonfeld on August 1, 2009 <http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/01/why-the-fcc-wants-to-smash-open-the-iphone/?awesm=tcrn.ch_2CGU&utm_campaign=techcrunch&utm_medium=tcrn.ch-twitter&utm_source=direct-tcrn.ch&utm_content=twitter-publisher-main > Right about now, Apple probably wishes it had never rejected Google Voice and related apps from the iPhone. Or maybe it was AT&T who rejected the apps. Nobody really knows. But the FCC launched an investigation last night to find out, sending letters to all three companies (Apple, AT&T, and Google) asking them to explain exactly what happened. On its face, it might seem odd to some people that the FCC is investigating the rejection of a single iPhone app. After all, iPhone apps are rejected every day. But the Google Voice rejection caused an unusual amount of uproar , and there is nothing like a high-profile case to make an example out of in pursuit of pushing a bigger policy agenda. The FCC investigation is not just about the arbitrary rejection of a single app. It is the FCC’s way of putting a stake in the ground for making the wireless networks controlled by cell phone carriers as open as the Internet. Today there are two different sets of rules for applications and devices on the Internet. On the wired Internet, we can connect any type of PC or other computing device and use any applications we want on those devices. On the wireless Internet controlled by cellular carriers like AT&T, we can only use the phones they allow on their networks and can only use the applications they approve. This was fine when the wireless networks were used mostly just for voice calls. But now that they are increasingly becoming our mobile connections to the Internet and mobile phones are becoming full-fledged mobile computers, an argument has been growing that the same rules of open access that rule the wired Internet should apply to the wireless Internet. Whlle Apple and AT&T are cannot be too happy about the FCC investigation, Google must secretly be pleased as punch. It was only two years ago, prior to the 700MHz wireless spectrum auctions, that it was pleading with the FCC to adopt principles guaranteeing open access for applications, devices, services, and other networks. Now two years later, in a different context and under a different administration, the FCC is pushing for the same principles. In its letters requesting more information from all three companies, the FCC cites “pending FCC proceedings regarding wireless open access (RM-11361) and handset exclusivity (RM-11497). That first proceeding on open access dates back to 2007 when Skype requested that cell phone carriers open up their networks to all applications (see Skype’s petition here ). Like Google Voice, Skype helps consumers bypass the carriers. The carriers don’t like that because that’s their erodes their core business and turns them into dumb pipes. [snip] ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ----- End forwarded message -----