Over the past few months, with all of their new data throttling policies and publicly announced distain towards services such as iMessage and Skype, AT&T has started to become one of the most restrictive carriers in the United States.
Last month, during Apple’s announcement of the next major installment to their mobile operating system, iOS 6, it was revealed that customers will be able to use FaceTime over their cellular data plan. A feature feature that has been suggested and requested since FaceTime was first announced alongside the iPhone 4.
Now however, with yesterday’s release of iOS 6 beta 3, some developers are reporting a new dialogue box that prompts them to call AT&T or visit their site to “enable FaceTime over cellular”. Moreover, even select Verizon users are encountering a similar prompt when trying to enable FaceTime over their cellular data plan (3G in this case). But, not all users on Apple’s latest beta are subject to the new FaceTime dialogue popup.
Also, as highlighted by MacRumors, AT&T issued a brief statement addressing customers’ concerns:
We’re working closely with Apple on the new developer build of iOS 6 and
we’ll share more information with our customers as it becomes available.
While it won’t be the last bad move on AT&T’s part if they add FaceTime over cellular as a premium feature (similar to iOS’ built in Personal Hotspot functionality), it will certainly cause some customers to reconsider their carrier choice.
Stay tuned for additional coverage on Apple and AT&T’s restrictive policies.
