Take heart Skype, Fring, Truphone and all other IP-Telephony service providers. Apple (and I assume AT&T) have finally approved a VoIP-over-3G application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and, yes, the iPad. According to an article by Joseph Palenchar in TWICE (This Week in Consumer Electronics), the new application is the result of “a revision made by Apple its licensing agreements with applications developers” to correspond with a modification in the Apple iPhone’s SDK that enables VoIP phone calls over the cellular network.

It was a move that, among other objectives, aimed to please FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who is also quoted in TWICE, commending “Apple’s decision to open its platform to 3G calling, an action that will create new opportunities for entrepreneurs and provide more choices for consumers.” The immediate beneficiary is Connecticut-based iCall, which has added “free phone calls” from the iPhone to a roster of free or low-cost voice calls using PCs running specified versions of Windows, Linux or MacOS.

According to reports Fring has already joined iCall in the AppStore, while Skype says its app is ready but waiting for a few tests and modifications to be complete. The move dramatizes the opportunities presented by iPhone while, at the same time showcasing how opportunities can be created or destroyed at the whim of Apple’s policymakers. At this point, just a few days after Google launched its Web-based access to Google Voice features, there is no turning back, and charging forward means that new features and functions are bound to augment vanilla, free long-distance.

Categories: Articles

Tags: Skype, Apple, AT&T, iPhone, Recombinant Communications, FCC, iPad