AT&T; may charge for cellular FaceTime calls; Sprint says it won’t
It looks like AT&T; iPhone customers may have to pay to make cellular FaceTime calls upon of iOS 6 this fall.
After previously allowing developers to use the function for free, a developer version of iOS 6 on AT&T; now brings up a notice asking users to enable cellular FaceTime calls.
But it isn’t the first time AT&T; put out a notice like this. The network activated a similar message when it started charging extra for iPhone tethering a few years back, says 9 to 5 Mac, which discovered the notice for cellular FaceTime calls.
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AT&T; hasn’t put an end to speculation either. The Texas-based carrier has declined to confirm or deny whether it will charge.
“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,” an AT&T; spokeswoman said.
Verizon, which also carries the iPhone, has also declined to comment on whether it will charge, although 9 to 5 Mac says they were unable to prompt the same notice over a Verizon iPad.
Sprint, though, has said it plans to continue offering unlimited data and as such does not plan to charge for cellular FaceTime calls, according to an article on the Wall Street Journal.
“We are committed to our unlimited data and that means not charging for data consumption based on the application,” a spokeswoman said, according to the piece.
Since its launch in 2010, FaceTime calls have been limited to Wi-Fi only, but last month, Apple announced that will change with iOS 6, which will launch some time this fall.
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