Google gets nailed by the regulatory regime it wanted to use against its competitors

This is a follow up on previous posts here. From the WSJ:

AT&T Inc. accused Google Inc. of blocking calls to Benedictine nuns, a congressman's campaign office and a myriad of small businesses in rural areas, in the latest escalation of the battle between the two over Internet network rules.

Google has acknowledged that Google Voice, its Internet call-forwarding service, blocks calls to some areas, mostly to what it says are adult chat or free conference call services. Google blocks calls in mostly rural areas where rates are higher and calls are more expensive to connect. Some companies, called "traffic pumpers," deliberately route calls through those costlier, mostly rural areas to increase revenue.

AT&T said in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday that it compiled a list of well-known areas where "traffic pumpers" typically route traffic and then used Google's search engine to identify specific businesses, churches and others, including a convent of Benedictine nuns in Minnesota and the campaign office of Rep. Collin Peterson (D, Minn.), which could be getting blocked. AT&T employees then used the Google Voice service to try calling those numbers, but found the calls were blocked.

"We can now see the power of Internet-based applications providers to act as gatekeepers who can threaten the "free and open" Internet," AT&T wrote.

"Google Voice is a free web application that manages peoples' existing phone numbers and isn't subject to the regulations that govern traditional phone carriers," a Google spokesman said in a statement. "Our sole intention is to isolate and restrict numbers only associated with traffic pumping schemes, which would impact our ability to offer Google Voice for free." . .

The FCC is scheduled to unveil its proposed net neutrality rules next week. . . .