What a coincidence. Verizon announces they will soon offer Android powered devices with a full functioning Google Voice component, and low and behold, AT&T announces this afternoon, they will be supporting VoIP, including Skype and Vonage, for the iPhone.
Google Voice is missing from the announcement, but one has to think, it’s not too far behind. “AT&T today announced it has taken the steps necessary so that Apple can enable VoIP applications on iPhone to run on AT&T’s wireless network,” says AT&T in a company statement.
The development illustrates the incredible powers of policy and competition. The FCC’s renewed interest in wireless industry practices and net neutrality has all service providers looking for ways to show their new found openness. In the midst of this new regulatory scrutiny, here comes Verizon saying they embrace Android’s open platform and will not only offer Google Voice, but will also pre-install Android’s app marketplace on all Android devices.
It’s been a whirlwind of a day. So much so, leading wireless industry analyst Chetan Sharma tweets, “Today has been more groundbreaking for the wireless industry than most of 2009 combined.”
