AT&T on Tuesday afternoon confirmed rumors and said it would allow voice over IP apps like Skype to work on the iPhone's 3G access. It had previously forced these apps to use Wi-Fi and justified the change of heart by arguing that it had taken a "fresh look" at the Apple smartphone's support for the feature as part of periodic reviews. Apple and the FCC have both been notified of the move.

"Today’s decision was made after evaluating our customers' expectations and use of the device compared to dozens of others we offer," AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said in a statement.

While characterized as routine, the reversal in policy comes just two weeks after the FCC suggested net neutrality for phone apps and drew scrutiny to the competitive practices of US cellular carriers. AT&T has readily stated that it has blocked VoIP apps on the iPhone as they compete with its traditional voice, though it has also contended that the inherent limits of 3G have also made it impractical. Other phones have usually had looser restrictions.

It's not expected that allowing Internet calling apps on 3G will directly affect the FCC's investigation into the rejection of Google Voice for the iPhone. AT&T has denied it was involved in denying the app and noted that it doesn't consider Google Voice a VoIP service as it still depends on a regular cellphone voice link. Apple is less certain about its nature but has agreed that AT&T didn't play a part in the review of the Google app.

Apple hasn't responded to AT&T's move and said how soon it would reflect AT&T's new attitude with its tests of new or updated iPhone VoIP software.