Tuesday, May 21, 2013

AT&T to open mobile video chat for all customers

AT&T customers should be able to use any mobile video chat app before too much longer.

Preloaded video-chat apps will work over AT&T's cellular network for all customers, regardless of device or data plan, by the end of 2013, according to a statement from AT&T.

Customers with unlimited data and an LTE device should expect to be able to use video chat apps from Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry over the AT&T network by mid-June.

Here is the full statement from AT&T:

For video chat apps that come preloaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans. Apple, Samsung, and Blackberry have chosen to enable this for their preloaded video chat apps. And by mid-June, we'll have enabled those apps over cellular for our unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices from those three manufacturers.

Throughout the second half of this year, we plan to enable preloaded video chat apps over cellular for all our customers, regardless of data plan or device; that work is expected to be complete by year-end.

Today, all of our customers can use any mobile video chat app that they download from the Internet, such as Skype.

AT&T came under scrutiny when the company limited iOS users to using Apple's Facetime app over Wi-Fi only. After public pressure and the threat of a Federal Communications Commission investigation, AT&T revised its policy to allow any wireless customer with a tiered data plan to use Apple's FaceTime app over AT&T's cellular network.

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