AT&T hangs up on Internet telephone service

The final notice came in a slew of e-mail this week. AT&T Inc. said that it was disconnecting my CallVantage service Nov. 17 and that I had to make arrangements quickly for another carrier.

AT&T had announced that it was getting out of the Internet calling business, a blow to what little competition there is among the major land-line telephone operators.

As an online service using voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP, CallVantage was able to reach into the home territories of Verizon Communications and Qwest Communications, as well as areas covered by smaller regional land-line carriers. Just as Verizon’s VoiceWing online service did before it was closed this year.

But neither company promoted their programs, shunting them aside as communications afterthoughts. And then, among the reasons cited for discontinuing the service, they pointed to a drop in customers. Small wonder. They simply wanted to promote so-called growth areas -- their own broadband connections limited to the territories they serve.

The elimination of perfectly good programs, CallVantage and VoiceWing, ensured that the phone carriers weren’t going to compete against each other for land-line service.

Sure, more people are moving to wireless-only phones, and there is a bit more competition in a field still controlled mainly by Verizon and AT&T. But in the home telephone market, land lines still prevail -- and each carrier has a near-monopoly. The only competition for wired phones comes from cable companies such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast.

Moreover, regardless of wireless, the line is still important: It also delivers the all-important Internet connection. For most folks, the choice of broadband service also is limited to two: the phone company or the cable company.

That’s not much competition. That’s why it was comforting to know that at least you could use your Internet connection to open up a bit of free or low-cost competition for phone service.

You still have Vonage, MagicJack, Skype and a host of other players that are using the Internet connection. Google Voice may be one more program to help fill the void, but it’s not yet quite as simple to use as a regular phone.

For me, the loss of CallVantage is not crucial. As the paper’s former telecom reporter, I had tried out all sorts of calling services, and decided to take CallVantage as a home-office phone because it was the best. Most tech surveys also rated it as the best VoIP service, just a notch above VoiceWing and far ahead of anything else.

Still, hanging up on CallVantage and VoiceWing leaves consumers with fewer options -- again.

-- James S. Granelli

CTIA: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski poses framework for regulating wireless industry

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Credit: Mark Wilson / Getty Images

After three months on the job as President Obama's chief telecommunications regulator, Julius Genachowski concluded, "It's all about mobile." 

At least that's what he told attendees at the CTIA wireless conference in San Diego this morning. The Federal Communications Commission chairman outlined four priorities as a sort of framework for how the Obama administration will regulate the market for mobile Internet service.

Calling it his "MBA plan" (mobile broadband agenda), Genachowski laid out the priorities:

1. Add more spectrum capacity to handle the coming explosion of Internet traffic from smart phones and wireless laptops. From uploading and watching video on phones to accessing electronic textbooks, the uses of wireless connectivity are expected to zoom thirtyfold in the next five years, while capacity is projected to grow only threefold, leading to what Genachowski called a "looming spectrum crisis." He proposes two solutions: making more efficient use of the current network and freeing up more airwaves such as the ones the FCC auctioned off last year.
2. Remove red tape to allow wireless carriers to build their networks faster. Genachowski vowed that his agency would expedite requests to put up cell towers, help clear spectrum and clarify policies on issues such as roaming, a statement that drew applause from the audience.
3. Codify and enforce so-called net neutrality policies. Reiterating his previous statements, Genachowski said he favored regulations that would prohibit carriers from delivering some content faster than others. Though most of today's Internet traffic goes through wired cable of DSL services, a fast-growing portion of data also happens over cellphone networks. In a nod to the wireless industry, Genachowski acknowledged that there should be different sets of rules for wireless companies than for wired cable and DSL businesses.
4. Operate more openly. He called for a "fact-based, data-driven" open dialogue with industry executives.

One industry bigwig, AT&T's mobility and consumer markets chief, Ralph de la Vega, took Genachowski up on the offer. De la Vega's message: The wireless industry ain't broke, so don't go trying to fix it.

-- Alex Pham

Follow my random thoughts on games, gear and technology on Twitter @AlexPham.

AT&T accuses Google Voice of breaking federal law

AT&T Inc. urged the Federal Communications Commission today to look at the Google Voice service, alleging that it blocks people from calling certain phone numbers, which might be a violation of federal telecommunications laws.

The phone giant based its allegation on press reports that said Google Voice restricts callers from placing calls to certain areas with carriers that charge high access fees. Under federal law, other providers don’t have that option.

“By blocking these calls, Google is able to reduce its access expenses,” the letter said.

AT&T also contends that Google Voice violates FCC's "net neutrality" guidelines, which say consumers are entitled to competition among network and service providers. AT&T said Google breaks the rules by “openly flaunting the call-blocking prohibition that applies to its competitors.”

On a company blog, Google’s telecom and media counsel Richard Whitt said that Google Voice should be allowed to block the calls because it is not a traditional phone service.

“Unlike traditional carriers, Google Voice is a free, Web-based software application, and so not subject to common carrier laws,” he said.

Google Voice is a service that centralizes people’s mobile and land-line numbers and their messaging to one number.

“Google Voice is not intended to be a replacement for traditional phone service -- in fact, you need an existing land or wireless line in order to use it,” Whitt said. “Importantly, users are still able to make outbound calls on any other phone device.“

This is the latest fight between the companies, which have had an ongoing feud over net neutrality issues. Last week, in another spat, Google wrote a letter to the FCC over its dismay that Apple Inc. had rejected Google Voice for its iPhone app store. Some industry observers have said that the service could potentially compete with AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier.

-- W.J. Hennigan

Teaching the elderly to text

AT&T worker Gabriela Vasquez gives cellphone tips to L.A. resident Carol Berke. Credit: AT&T

Pretty soon, you might start seeing text messages from grandma.

"LOL did u see Jay Leno last night?"

AT&T workers held free 20-minute sessions at the Oasis Christian Center in West Los Angeles today to demonstrate basic cellphone features to the elderly. Senior citizens who signed up in advance got schooled on how to send SMS messages, make phone calls, add and edit contacts and manipulate settings.

AT&T spokeswoman Kate Keating says many older cellphone users demonstrate little knowledge of how to use basic device functions. And for the most part, we're talking flip phones, not Blackberries.

Keating says that even "the more tech-savvy elderly people don't know how to text." So, these ongoing programs with Oasis "help them learn about new technologies like texting," Keating said.

Indeed, the average number of text messages per user has far surpassed the number of minutes spent talking on cellphones. But that adoption is still working its way up from young people, who latched on to the technology unwaveringly over the last decade, to older generations.

Verizon Wireless has held similar training sessions at senior centers. The company sponsored this year's Senior Olympics, where it provided product demos on-site. The telecom company also boasts four-dozen hearing-aid-compatible cellphones and a line of simple devices with giant buttons.

-- Mark Milian

Skype founders sue EBay

Ed Ho, right, demonstrates the online telecommunications service Skype with friend Daren Tsui, on screen, at Ho's Palo Alto, Calif., home. Credit: Paul Sakuma / Associated Press.

The founders of Skype filed a lawsuit against EBay Inc. today, a step that could spoil EBay’s $2-billion deal to sell a controlling stake in the Internet phone company to a group of private investors.

The suit, filed in a Delaware court, was brought by Joltid Ltd. and Joost N.V., which are owned by Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. The lawsuit contends that former Joost chief executive Michelangelo Volpi used confidential information to sell a 65% stake in Skype to a private equity consortium. The deal was announced by EBay about two weeks ago.

Volpi recently became a partner at Index Ventures Management S.A., one of the investors buying a majority stake in Skype. The lawsuit alleges that Volpi leaked Joost’s company secrets and accuses him of “civil conspiracy.” Volpi had a fiduciary duty to protect the information, the lawsuit charges, and not “use it for his own benefit.” Index Ventures is also listed as a defendant in the suit.

EBay bought Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005. It’s been reported that Zennstrom and Friis want to buy Skype back, but their bid has been unsuccessful.

Today's lawsuit is just the latest in an ongoing dispute between Skype's founders and EBay. Earlier this week, the founders sued the investors and EBay in U.S. District Court in Northern California, charging   copyright infringement.

-- W.J. Hennigan

AT&T: MMS coming for iPhone 3G and 3GS Sept. 25 [Updated]

Hear that? It's the sound of iPhones ringing around the country to the tone of "Hallelujah!"

AT&T announced today that the iPhone 3G and 3GS will finally be able to send multimedia messages (MMS) starting Sept. 25. The original, metal-back iPhone will not be supported, an Apple representative said in an e-mail.

Like text messaging, MMS allows users to send media-rich messages, with pictures, video and audio, directly to other wireless phones. Previously, Apple encouraged iPhone users to e-mail those files as attachments.

Staying true to its promise of delivering the functionality in "late summer," the feature will be included in a software update for iPhone 3G and 3GS, AT&T said in a press release.

The update is presumably iPhone OS version 3.1, which developers think will open the floodgates for augmented-reality applications.

"We’ve been working for the past several months to prepare our systems and network to ensure the best possible experience with MMS when it launches," the AT&T press release reads. "We know that iPhone users will embrace MMS. The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network."

The update will bring the iPhone in line with just about every other phone on the market that has long been capable of sending and receiving MMS messages. But hey, who's complaining? We're all finally welcome to the party!

Oh, you still have an original iPhone? That's rough.

Updated, 12:20 p.m.: Added confirmation from Apple that the original iPhone will not be capable of transmitting MMS.

-- Mark Milian

Photo credit: Roland via Flickr

Telecoms chase after Google Voice's innovative calling features

Google engineers show off the Voice Web app. Credit: Septillion via Flickr

Google's pickup of Grand Central, a little Web startup with big ideas for revolutionizing phone use, is starting to look pretty smart two years later. The recently revamped version called Google Voice is beginning to spread to curious consumers in a similar fashion as Gmail's closed beta helped to conquer a sector of the Web-based e-mail sector.

As more people get hip to Google Voice's perks of getting free voice mail transcription and e-mail alerts, having one number ring all of your phones and scoring free calls and text messages, some telecoms are quickly working behind the scenes to catch up.

Last night, Vonage, a voice-over-IP Internet service, took steps to chip away at some of Google Voice's most compelling features. The company announced voice mail transcription and unlimited calling in the U.S. and to more than 60 countries with a $25 monthly plan. For comparison, Google Voice offers unlimited U.S. calling for free and a variable but competitively priced per-minute international rate.

Some companies are beginning to switch over to Google Apps from Microsoft Office (even the California state government is discussing similar plans). Perhaps to combat ...

Belarus school uniform company latest to react to cellphone radiation fears

Andreas Sallmann invented men's briefs that could supposedly block cellphone radiation. Credit: Le Matin

A textile company in Belarus has come up with a school uniform that supposedly protects kids from cellphone radiation.

If you can read Russian, you can read the announcement here, otherwise Foreign Policy blogger Evgeny Morozov writes about it in English.

Morozov, who is from the eastern European country, mocks the announcement, and indeed the possible harm caused to humans by cellphone emissions is highly controversial. 

But there have been several attempts over the years to bring out clothing that supposedly blocks the phone rays. The folks at the textile site textually.org note that in 2007 Swiss manufacturer ISA Bodywear introduced men's underwear, invented by Andreas Sallmann, that were made with silver thread to supposedly protect "men's sperm from harmful cellphone radiation."

Although the company's current site does not seem to offer the briefs, it does incidentally have perhaps the oddest -- yet tasteful -- home page for an underwear manufacturer. It features a man with a goat and a woman playing the accordion.

Otherwise, textually.org notes that in 2002, Levi Strauss launched a line of its Dockers pants with "anti-radiation" pockets. However, this did not keep the company, four years later, from making a deal to put its brand on a cellphone. 

-- David Colker

T-Mobile MyTouch 3G is a solid Google phone -- no, not an iPhone killer [Updated]

T-Mobile released the MyTouch 3G last week, its second cellphone based on Google's Android operating system. I've been testing the phone, which goes by the name HTC Magic in other countries, and can see why it has already sold a million units. It's a powerful gadget with a lot of great features. But please, don't call it an "iPhone killer."

It's tough reviewing a smart phone without drawing parallels to the apple of the tech world's eye. I carry an iPhone in my pocket every day and have completely adapted to its quirks -- both good and bad.

A lot of the subtle additions by manufacturer HTC and developer Google, including removal of the physical keyboard of the first Google phone and greater customization for media and apps, clearly follow in Apple's footsteps. Not a bad thing. But it makes it that much easier to compare the two.

On its own merits, the MyTouch is a very good phone. It looks nice; the touch screen is responsive; the virtual keyboard works well most of the time; and it has apps. Who doesn't love downloading apps?

When putting those features side-by-side with the iPhone's, however, the MyTouch looks less shiny.

As for the hardware, the MyTouch is sturdy and attractive. But it's noticeably thicker than the iPhone and its screen is smaller -- both downgrades.

It has way too many tiny buttons for a phone that's supposed to be relying on software navigation. But it does have that scroll-ball nipple thing I love about the Blackberry. Makes scrolling through lots of e-mails or tweets a breeze.

The software is laid out well and certainly works with a mostly-touch interface. A lack of multi-touch gestures, like the iPhone's pinching for zooming in and out, slows down common actions. And with all of those ...

Palm Pre finally gets a second home at Verizon

Palm Pre is going to Verizon. Credit: Palm Inc.

Ever since the spiffy Palm Pre phone came out last month exclusively as a product for the Sprint network, there have been rumors about when it would be offered by other cell service providers.

Finally, Verizon confirmed Monday that it would be offering the Palm Pre. The announcement came during a company conference call with industry analysts when Chief Operating Officer Dennis Strigl simply said, "We plan to offer the Palm Pre early next year."

That was it. Information about just when Verizon will have the Palm Pre and how much it will cost will have to await future announcements.

To be fair, Verizon executives had a lot on their minds during the call that came after the company announced its second-quarter earnings. Despite cost-cutting, Verizon said profit dropped 21%  compared with the same quarter last year. It plans to cut more than 8,000 employees and contractors by the end of the year.

-- David Colker