A level playing field

Thanks to new anti-monopoly recommendations made by the United States regulatory authorities, you may be able to get Google apps on the iPhone

A level playing field

Thanks to new anti-monopoly recommendations made by the United States regulatory authorities, you may be able to get Google apps on the iPhone

Right now, if your name is Steve Jobs, then chances are high that you are not getting much sleep. And the person to blame is Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Before we discuss what Genachowski did, a small backgrounder. According to a press release available at fcc.gov, the FCC has four open Internet principles affirming that consumers must be able to access the lawful Internet content, applications, and services of their choice, and attach non-harmful devices to the network.

What's new?
To these, chairman Genachowski has added two new principles. According to the FCC's site, the first would prevent Internet access providers from discriminating against particular Internet content or applications. The second principle would ensure that Internet access providers are transparent about the network management practices.

While this is bound to have a deep impact on a variety of companiesu2014for instance, Comcast may no longer be able to block peer-to-peer service BitTorrent on its networku2014in many ways, the impact on Apple is bound to be extremely painful

Why?
This is because Apple and AT&T have what we call a duopoly on the iPhone. Apple on the iPhone doesn't allow you to use any carrier other than AT&T and have fought back various attempts from others to get them to change.

As has been reported in MiD DAY's IT ADDA earlier, Apple decided to only allow usage of Skype on the iPhone on local Wi-Fi networks and not over data networks of carrier partners like AT&T (Skype comes to iPhone, March 31, 2009). The company went one step further recently and actually rejected Google Voice, something that really got the FCC's goat (Way to go, FCC!, August 3, 2009).

But now, thanks to the FCC's decision, you may soon be able to use Skype to make calls on the iPhone, and also use Google Apps. Great, isn't it?

QUICK TAKE
-u00a0The FCC has made two new rules
-u00a0These will make it easier for users
-u00a0However, some companies are bound to suffer

What is the FCC?
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute, and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the media, public safety and homeland security, and modernising the FCC.
FCC's current chairman Julius Genachowski is an American lawyer and businessman. He assumed office on June 29, 2009. For the Obama 2008 presidential campaign, Genachowski was chairman of the technology, media and telecommunications policy working group that created the Obama technology and innovation plan. He also advised and guided the Obama campaign's innovative use of technology and the Internet for grassroots engagement and participation.