The second largest operator in the US, AT&T, recently sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman, Tom Wheeler, requesting special clearance for the commercial launch of its WiFi calling service to its customers. Interestingly, T-Mobile and Sprint have both launched the service this year, so the request by AT&T raises a question mark as to the sudden need for such an approval.
AT&T claims that Wi-Fi calling service essentially falls under FCC's 'voice calling networks' requirements which are mandated to provide support for teletypewriter, also known as TTY devices. The operator said that these devices which are typically required for providing accessibility services, “do not operate reliably on…Wi-Fi networks" and therefore wants to get a waiver releasing them from the requirement to launch WiFi calling service.
AT&T in its letter also claims that both T-Mobile & Sprint have been offering Wi-Fi calling without getting prior exemption from FCC to comply with the TTY rule. In a statement to 9to5Mac, Jim Cicconi, AT&T's Legal Senior Vice President, James Ciccioni, said that, "T-Mobile's CEO is dodging the question posed in our letter to the FCC. The fact is that he 'unleashed' his Wi-Fi calling while completely ignoring FCC rules. The rest of us aren't in the habit of operating that way, especially in an area that impacts the disability community. But apparently T-Mobile feels it’s immune to the rules that apply to everyone else. It's time the FCC proved them wrong. It's also time the FCC granted our waiver so we can offer our customers a legal Wi-Fi calling option."
