This petition by Skype is one of the most significant milestone for the VoIP, or mobile application, industry. It will decide if the wall-garden cellular network will stay or go.
Skype yesterday petitioned the FCC to lay the smack down on wireless
phone carriers who “limit subscribers’ right to run software communications applications of their choosing” (read: Skype software). Skype wants the agency to more stringently apply the famous 1968 Carterfone decision that allowed consumers to hook any device up to the phone network, so long as it did not harm the network. In Skype’s eyes, that means allowing any software or applications to run on any devices that access the network.
It stands on good ground based on the precedence of Caterfone in 1968 but law aside, politics is will likely to be involve. Afterall, you can expect cellular operators to fight it to the end.
