AT&T is defending its decision to limit the use of Apple's video chat feature, FaceTime, to its Mobile Share data plans by saying that the limitation does not violate the FCC's net neutrality rules. The company wrote in a blog post on Wednesday that some groups had "another knee-jerk reaction" to AT&T's limitation, but the company argues that its decision meets all FCC requirements.
Last Friday, AT&T issued a statement confirming that the carrier wouldn't charge extra for the use of FaceTime over 3G like many had suspected. However, the company did say that customers who want to use the iPhone video chat feature would be required to subscribe to one of AT&T's new Mobile Share data plans—AT&T's version of a shared data pool that can be used across multiple devices.
The catch for users is two-fold. When we covered AT&T's plans in July, we noted that the savings were not particularly great for many users, particularly the solo tablet-and-smartphone user. As such, it doesn't make much sense for those users to pay extra for a different plan just so they can use FaceTime. More importantly, switching over to the Mobile Share data plan would force many data users who are currently subscribing to grandfathered data plans to give up their unlimited data. AT&T has long said that it would allow unlimited data subscribers to continue using their plans (which are no longer offered to new customers) as long as they didn't change their subscriptions, but those users won't be able to use FaceTime over their cellular connection unless they make that change.
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