FCC Hanging Up On Skype Open Access Request

The same type of open access rule that was added to the recent 700MHz spectrum auctions won’t be imposed on current spectrum, as Skype hoped it would.

Skype wanted the Federal Communications Commission to compel wireless carriers to permit the use of its VoIP technology on their networks. The entrenched carriers wanted no part of it, and the FCC’s chairman sided with them.

The Carterfone decision that allowed people to connect any device to AT&T’s network, not just phones purchased from AT&T, didn’t sway FCC chairman Kevin Martin. Skype Journal cited Martin’s disappointing comments at the CTIA show in Las Vegas:

In light of the industry