Comment Network harm: Wrong then, wrong now (Score 1) 778
Surprised no one has mentioned the Carterphone decision.
In the late 1960s, AT&T argued that a newfangled third-party device called a modem would cause "network harm" if it were attached to the network.
The US FCC overruled that approach with the landmark 1968 Carterphone decision. It's difficult to overstate the decision's importance; it made the entire data comm industry possible by allowing any vendor's equipment to use a carrier's common network.
AT&T was blowing smoke then about network harm. Apple is doing the same here.
In the late 1960s, AT&T argued that a newfangled third-party device called a modem would cause "network harm" if it were attached to the network.
The US FCC overruled that approach with the landmark 1968 Carterphone decision. It's difficult to overstate the decision's importance; it made the entire data comm industry possible by allowing any vendor's equipment to use a carrier's common network.
AT&T was blowing smoke then about network harm. Apple is doing the same here.