Should wireless operators have a right to ban VoIP applications from their data networks, or even public hotspots?
By Nate Mook April 3, 2009
Consumer and technology advocacy groups in both the United States and Europe are asking for governmental intervention to stop wireless carriers from selectively blocking applications from running on phones. The moves came after carriers in the US prevented Skype from running on 3G data networks, and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit in Germany said it may even ban Skype usage over Wi-Fi. T-Mobile claims that allowing consumers to make voice over IP calls would lead to high bandwidth usage and slow down the network, an assertion that many reject. Skype responded to news that DT would block its application on the iPhone and BlackBerry devices earlier this week by saying there is no technical justification for the move. "They pretend that their action has to do with technical concerns: this is baseless. Skype works perfectly well on iPhone, as hundreds of thousands of people globally can already readily attest. But their announcement also demonstrates that some operators do not fear the customer or regulatory consequences of their bad behaviour," said Skype general counsel Robert Miller.
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