• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, August 10, 2009

Last week, some digital rights advocates cheered news that the Federal Communications Commission was investigating Apple's rejection of an app for Google's voice service.

Now it turns out that Google's voice app might be available on the iPhone even without FCC intervention. Google currently is developing a substitute for the rejected app, The New York Timesreports. "Google says it is readying a replacement for the Google Voice app that will offer exactly the same features as the rejected app -- except that it will take the form of a specialized, iPhone-shaped Web page," writes the Times' David Pogue.

Google's voice app would allow users to use their iPhones to send free SMS messages and also make cheap international calls -- activities that AT&T has an obvious interest in limiting.

Of course, Apple still could nix the new app. But the company might not want to do so, given the recent backlash. Not only are Apple (and AT&T) facing official questions about why Google's voice app was initially rejected, but the companies also might face inquiries regarding restrictions on other apps.

In April, Free Press asked the FCC to investigate whether AT&T and Apple were violating net neutrality principles by limiting Skype's usefulness on the iPhone. Apple denied approval for a Skype app for free telephone service that would have worked on AT&T's 3G network. Instead, the app only allows iPhone users to make calls with Skype on a Wi-Fi network.

And it's not only Apple's treatment of apps that has raised eyebrows. The FCC also is investigating whether exclusivity agreements tying devices to particular carriers -- such as Apple's deal with AT&T and Palm's deal with Sprint -- are bad for consumers.