AT&T reverses itself, will allow VoIP programs on the iPhone


AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has seen massive negative publicity come in from earlier in the summer to know in regards to its policies on the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone it currently has an exclusive on. After all, that $99 or $199 purchase was not giving customers complete control over over the freedom to do what they wanted with those precious iPhones.

When the AT&T/Google/Apple situation flared up recently, it caused the microscope on AT&T's strict controls on the iPhone to become even more intense.

And then the Vonage Inc. (NYSE: VG) Voice-over-IP calling application was approved for the Apple App Store for use on the iPhone. Mixed signals? You bet. Here's another one: AT&T just announced that VoIP applications would now be allowed over its wireless network in addition for use over the WiFi connection all iPhones have. Does this signal a surrender by AT&T? Yep.

AT&T, which has been heavily criticized for an underperforming wireless network that is overwhelmed by iPhone users surfing the web and buying applications, will now add voice calling to that saturated data network. Hopefully, this won't sink the company's network reputation even further, but regardless this is a win for those that want more direct control over the devices they paid for and continue to pay handsomely for every month.

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