According to a report on the German website heise.de, Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile USA, is preparing a rollout of FaceTime on its German 3G network.
The website bases this information on internal sales documentation, providing an alleged screenshot of the material, which mentions a paid “VoIP/FaceTime” option.
Deutsche Telekom’s introduction of FaceTime over 3G for iPhone users is a significant step in mobile communication. This change means users can now make FaceTime calls without relying on Wi-Fi, a major convenience, especially when away from home or office networks. It’s a clear sign of how mobile networks are evolving to support more data-intensive applications like video calls. This move could encourage other network providers to upgrade their services similarly, leading to widespread improvements in mobile video communication.
During the introduction of the FaceTime feature in 2010, Steve Jobs indicated that the feature would be available on 3G networks, pending negotiations with carriers.
In this context, it’s interesting to recall an incident at Apple’s 2010 WWDC. Back then, Steve Jobs had to ask the audience to disconnect from Wi-Fi during his iPhone 4 presentation due to connectivity issues. This event highlighted the limitations of Wi-Fi and the need for more reliable mobile network solutions.
It looks like these negotiations are starting to bear fruits, at least in Germany.
Source: heise.de
