“Below is a recent news occurrence of concerns over SKYPE’s affect on Telco firms Globally including usage blocks of SKYPE over 3G networks.  What is interesting to note is the threat of VoIP as a whole on the Telecom industry.  I predict that these proposed 3G road blocks are the first of a series to surface. “

Courtesy of Fiercevoip.com – Authored by Doug Mohney

The release of Skype for iPhone may have opened a Pandora’s box of legal headaches for carriers. In Europe, Deutsche Telekom (DT) has said it will prohibit the use of VoIP apps on its 3G network, restrict use of said apps on the company’s hotspot network, and cancel the contract of customers who try to work around the restrictions. Meanwhile, public advocacy group Free Press is asking the Federal Communications Commission to investigate AT&T’s implementation of Skype on the iPhone, wondering if restricting use of Skype to WiFi and locking out 3G is a violation of federal law.

Skype is turning up its political lobbying efforts to turn up the heat on DT, calling on supporters to contact European politicians in a blog posting. The Voice on the Net (VON) coalition Europe (http://www.voneurope.eu/, not to be confused with the American version or the dead trade show, is also gearing up against DT’s banning of Skype for iPhone with a press statement saying that blocking of voice apps on mobile devices is “highly detrimental” for European consumers; Skype is a member of the group, along with Google, Microsoft, and Intel.

On Friday, Free Press called for the FCC to confirm that wireless networks must adhere to the FCC Internet Policy Statement, saying that consumers should have the right to access any online content and services on any device of their choosing. Skype for iPhone is one of three examples cited where wireless vendors are limiting the functionality of applications and/or content.

Whether or not the FCC as currently constituted is in any shape to make a policy statement is another issue. Currently, Michael Copps is serving as acting FCC chairman while Julius Genachowski awaits confirmation on Capitol Hill, while there are only two other FCC Commissioners seated at this time.

BY Kit EatonThu Mar 26, 2009 at 12:23 PM

The next iPhone could be the center of a sophisticated in-car navigation system, if a recently revealed Apple patent is taken to logical extremes. We’ve mentioned Apple’s extensive patenting of GPS technology before, but that’s mainly covered how the software will work. This time GPS hardware is outlined, and the main focus of the new tech is driver safety.

GPS units have radically reshaped both personal and vehicular navigation, even though the technology isn’t without its pitfalls. There have been countless reports of “user IQ failures” where 100% dumb reliance on GPS has ended up in disaster–including this one today. It’s really hard to mitigate against that kind of error, but that’s not where Apple’s safety concerns lie.

Instead, the technology is designed to minimize driver distraction, by turning off key components of the unit when the vehicle is moving. It’ll be able to do so through a number of sensors. These wired or wirelessly-connected sensors could monitor the tires, the engine, parking brake or simply use GPS data to detect if the car’s in motion. If it is, the touchscreen would be turned off.

But not completely. The patent describes how a passenger could still operate the touchscreen. To do so the unit would have to know the passenger was touching it, necessitating a bunch of other sensing tech. The task could be achieved with voice, weight, or seat belt sensors, infrared cameras to detect a person, or proximity sensors. Furthermore, the “angle of approach” of a hand could determine who’s touching the screen. And there’s also the mention of biometric sensors that enable or disable the screen lockdown based on user ID–achieved via iris recognition, fingerprint recognition or voice recognition.

All very groovy. But why does this point the way to future iPhone upgrades? Because a patent tries a scattergun approach to cover all the bases of the tech that may be used. The iPhone already has a basic proximity sensor to detect if it’s being held to your ear, and has a sensitive touchscreen. An augmented sensor suite, with new front-facing camera, IR sensors or advanced screen to enable some of the options mentioned in the patent is very possible. There’s also mention in the patent of “functions such as text messaging, mobile device, browsing, and such, based on biometrics, vehicle movement, proximity, and the like,” and suggestions that a camera embedded in the system could be used, when it’s dismounted, for “standard camera functions, such as recording photographs and video clips.”

This looks like a patent for an Apple GPS system, possibly even an in-car one. But to suggest Apple would launch a separate gadget is absurd, considering 80% of the tech’s already in the iPhone. Some of these plans could be achieved with the enhanced peripherals possible with iPhone 3.0 firmware. But some of it could be easily achieved with an enhanced iPhone. And since Apple’s becoming the king of seamlessly combining different technologies into one device, that’s what I’m putting my money on.