US communication authorities are investigatingallegations by telecoms group AT&Tthat Google
has an unfair advantage because Google Voice is not covered by
federal rules that govern phone service providers.
Earlier this month, AT&T said Google is not playing by the
same rules as its competitors by claiming that its Google Voice
telephony management application is not a traditional phone
service.
This is enabling Google to block calls to rural areas to save
access costs, which competitors bound by a 2007 Federal
Communication Commission (FCC) ruling are prohibited from
doing.
Google Voice opponents say although the application has a web
interface, it uses regular phone lines, unlike Skype and other
systems that use internet data channels.
In response to the AT&T complaints, the FCC has asked Google
to explain its reasons for blocking the calls, according to the
Financial Times.
Google said in a blog post that it avoids making connections to
local phone networks because they charge "exorbitant" termination
rates for calls.
They also partner with adult sex chat lines and conference
calling centres that result in "ludicrously high charges", Google
lawyer Richard Whitt wrote on the company's public policy blog.
In its official complaint, AT&T called on the FCC to ensure
that any new rules are applied not just to network operators, but
also to providers of internet applications, content and
services.
Anything less would be ineffective, legally suspect and, in all
events, a direct repudiation of president Barack Obama's call for a
level playing field, said Robert Quinn, a senior vice president at
AT&T.