AT&T activates FaceTime over cellular for all customers – are you one of them?
When Apple originally announced that iOS 6 would be bringing additional FaceTime over cellular capabilities, AT&T had told customers that, to use this new feature, they would have to upgrade to the carrier’s new Mobile Share plans.
In the months following AT&T’s decision, a number of people and organizations tried to get the FCC involved, since the decision to block an OS feature for paying members who weren’t paying enough seemed completely unfair to those paying members. AT&T then conceded to that fact, and said that it would be opening the option to use FaceTime over cellular to all users of LTE iPhones.
Of course, that was also a poor decision by AT&T: essentially, the carrier was discriminating against users of non-LTE iPhones, simply because they simply didn’t upgrade to a newer Apple handset.
Today, however, it seems that AT&T has done a complete about-face in regards to this issue. Some users of older iPhones are noticing that they can use FaceTime when connected to AT&T’s cellular network, which would appear to mean that AT&T is in fact activating the feature for all subscribers – not just ones who are paying even more to the carrier.
Unfortunately, the rollout seems to be taking a little while – and in some areas, there isn’t any support for FaceTime over cellular just yet. Originally, when AT&T said that all LTE phones would be able to use the feature, it implied that the rollout would take about eight to ten weeks; so it may be a while before all FaceTime-capable iPhones are able to use FaceTime on AT&T’s network.
In the meantime, be sure to let us know if you are currently able to use FaceTime over 3G, 4G HSPA+, or LTE.
