October 15th, 2009
AT&T: Google has it in for nuns, mom, and apple pie
Robert W. Quinn, Jr. AT&T Services, Inc.
Senior Vice President 1120 20th St. NW, Suite 1000
Federal Regulatory Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone 202 457-3851
Fax 832 213-0243
October 14, 2009
Sharon Gillett
Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington DC 20554
Re: Google Voice; Establishing Just and Reasonable Rates for Local Exchange Carriers, WC Docket No. 07-135; Broadband Industry Practices, 07-52
Dear Ms. Gillett:
As the debate regarding “net neutrality” has evolved, it appeared on the surface that all parties shared the same desire to preserve the “free and open” nature of the Internet, a goal enunciated by Chairman Genachowski with which we heartily agree. Ensuring consumers have the ability to go where they want to go on the Internet, communicate with whom they wish and access the lawful content they desire on the devices of their choice were principles that consumer groups, application and content providers and network providers alike supported throughout the discussion. The controversy over Google Voice demonstrates, however, that at least one party believes otherwise when it comes to its own services. As communications services increasingly migrate to broadband Internet-based platforms, we can now see the power of Internet-based applications providers to act as gatekeepers who can threaten the “free and open” Internet. Google’s double-standard for “openness” – where Google does what it wants while other providers are subject to Commission regulations – is plainly inconsistent with the goal of preserving a “free and open” Internet ecosystem.
In this case, and contrary to the public pronouncements of Google and its allies, Google’s rural call blocking regime is not limited to Google simply blocking calls to “adult sex chat lines” and “free” conference calling services to avoid high access charges.1 As discussed in the attached fact sheet “The Truth About Google Voice and the Open Internet Principles,” Google has been less than candid about the types of calls it is blocking. In fact, Google is blocking calls to, among others, an ambulance service, church, bank, law firm, automobile dealer, day spa, orchard, health clinic, tax preparation service, community center, eye doctor, tribal community college, school, residential consumers, a convent of Benedictine nuns, and the campaign office of a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Moreover, these are PSTN-to-PSTN calls, so regardless of how Google Voice is ultimately classified, the Commission has ample jurisdiction to order Google to stop blocking. More importantly, despite the efforts of Google and its supporters to obfuscate this issue, Google’s call blocking is directly related to “net neutrality.” Indeed, Google’s power to block calls – as well as its ability to abuse its market power in search and other services – dramatically underscores why the Commission cannot rationally exempt Google or any provider of Internet-based information services from any rules designed to preserve a “free and open Internet.”
1 Sex, conference calls, and outdated FCC rules, Google Policy Blog, Posted by Richard Whitt (Oct. 9, 2009) (October Google Blog), available at http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/10/sexconference- calls-and-outdated-fcc.html. See also AT&T Falls Back on “It’s All About Google” Strategy, Public Knowledge Blog, Posted by Harold Feld (Sept. 25, 2009) (Public Knowledge Blog), available at http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/2668; Free Press Responds to AT&T Letter, Urges FCC to Ignore Net Neutrality Distraction, Free Press News Release (Sept. 25, 2009) (Free Press News Release), available at http://www.freepress.net/node/73058.
Continue Reading AT&T’s Letter to the FCC >
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Ed Burnette is a professional developer and author of several articles and books about computing including Hello, Android: Introducing Google's Mobile Development Platform, 2nd Edition. For disclosure of Ed's industry affiliations, click here or to view his full profile click here.
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