Document delivers Google Voice rejection smoking gun
Previously “redacted” documents from Google put the lie to Apple’s assertion that the iPhone maker and App Store guardian hadn’t rejected Google Voice. A spokesman for the mothership has popped to cry foul, but the damage has been done with everyone now wondering what if anything federal regulators will do now.
Back on Aug. 22 when Apple told the world in documents submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it hadn’t in fact rejected Google Voice (GV), but was in fact still “studying” the independent telephony solution, the same world (+ dog) snorted in derision with the consensus being that the software had been quashed at AT&T’s insistence.
That said, although AT&T didn’t directly block GV, it has since come to light that a clause in its contract with Apple explicitly prohibits the Apple from allowing software that could compete with Ma Bell for voice calls.
Now, the other shoe has dropped with Engadget reporting that Google indeed claims in its response to inquires by the FCC that Apple’s vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, personally informed his opposite number at the search that GV would not be allowed on the App Store.
Source: Engadget
An unnamed Apple talking head has since popped up to say, “We do not agree with all of the statements made by Google in their FCC letter. Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application and we continue to discuss it with Google.”
To say the least, collusion between AT&T and Apple to prevent competition, and then conspiracy to cover up the incident are violations of the law. The question now is what laws have been broken and what regulators will if anything do about it.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it…
Cupertino has been caught with its unwashed hand — all the way up to its smelly, hairy armpit — in the cookie jar and still has temerity to insist it hasn’t done anything wrong. Sorry, Steve, but perhaps you should adopt a different tone when talking to the feds (ie the reality distortion field isn’t gonna work on the FCC)…
What’s your take?
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