AT&T has removed a limitation that prevented some iPad and iPhone owners from making FaceTime video calls over its cellular network, after some public interest organizations said they would complain to the government about the restriction.
The new version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 6, allows iPad and iPhone owners to make a FaceTime video call over a cellular network; before, those calls worked only on Wi-Fi.
AT&T had said it would allow only customers who subscribed to its new shared data plans to use FaceTime over its network, not those who had its older unlimited or tiered data plans. But the public interest organizations said that AT&T had violated Internet neutrality rules by blocking FaceTime, a calling service that could potentially compete with AT&T's traditional phone service.
In a statement issued on Thursday, AT&T said that over the next two months, it would allow customers of its older tiered data plans using its 4G LTE network to use FaceTime. It said it had limited use of  the service to customers with shared data plans because it wanted to measure the impact of FaceTime on its network. Customers with unlimited data plans will still not be able to use the service over the cell network.
The public groups said AT&T's move did not go far enough.
“The law is clear,†said Matt Wood, policy director of Free Press, in a statement. “AT&T cannot block FaceTime based on claims of potential congestion. There's nothing even remotely reasonable about that approach.†He said the carrier still faced potential violations of Net neutrality rules unless it made FaceTime available for all customers, including those with unlimited data plans.
James W. Cicconi, an AT&T executive, said in the statement that the company would continue to assess the impact of FaceTime on its network. He said he anticipated that customers on its other plans would be able to use the feature on its network in the near future.
