Verizon customers could be seeing Wi-Fi calling in the near future.
The FCC on Wednesday handed Verizon a waiver of the Commission’s requirements to support text telephony (TTY) over wireless IP networks, which would set the stage for the carrier to begin offering Wi-Fi calling.
In a filing, the FCC said the waiver expires December 31, 2017.
Last month, AT&T received its waiver with a bit of bluster, saying it was not happy with the fact that Sprint and T-Mobile have been offering Wi-Fi calling for some time but hadn’t filed for the waiver before doing so.
“There is a growing concern at AT&T that there is an asymmetry in the application of federal regulations to AT&T on the one hand and its marketplace competitors on the other hand,” Circconi wrote. “This situation simply adds fuel to that fire.”
Earlier this month, the Competitive Carrier Association (CCA) asked the FCC to issue a declaratory ruling confirming that it is not “achievable or readily achievable to provide IP-based LTE and Wi-Fi-based mobile wireless services that are compatible with a text telephone (TTY), the kind of device used by the deaf.
Verizon is the last of the four major U.S. carriers to recieve the TTY waiver. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are all now offering Wi-Fi calling to their customers.
Filed Under: Industry regulations
