The FCC has finally granted AT&T's waiver, allowing the major U.S. carrier to roll out its Wi-Fi calling soon.
The feature was already available in the iOS 9 beta, but when consumers updated to the official version, it disappeared, causing users to wonder why it did so. What happened was that FCC delayed its release because it didn't meet the communications commission's standards, as it was deemed unusable for users who have difficulties in hearing or suffer from deafness because of its lack of teletype services (TTY).
Jim Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs, questions why Sprint and T-Mobile were permitted to offer Wi-Fi calling without the required waiver from FCC, saying that favoritism is involved.
"We are not in a position to provide Wi-Fi calling services to our customers even while our competitors provide those services in defiance of the commission's rules," Cicconi said.
Now that the AT&T acquired the privilege to delay a TTY service until Dec. 31, 2017 according to the waiver, the company will now launch its anticipated Wi-Fi calling in the near future. In contrast to TTY, AT&T intends to release a real-time text (RTT) instead, as it is better and faster than the outdated technology. But Cicconi is not done yet.
"We're grateful the FCC has granted AT&T's waiver request so we can begin providing Wi-Fi calling. At the same time we are left scratching our heads as to why the FCC still seems intent on excusing the behavior of Sprint and T-Mobile, who have been offering these services without a waiver for quite some time," he posted on AT&T's blog.
AT&T followed rules and regulations, whereas Sprint and T-Mobile apparently did not. AT&T could have carried out Wi-Fi calling long before the waiver was granted, but the company thought better. As it turns out, AT&T's decisions improved its image to the public, and it might even be start a positive marketing effect.
AT&T's Wi-Fi calling has no official release date yet, but it should take long for the U.S. carrier to implement it.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
