Apple’s FaceTime in iOS 6 Now Works Over Cellular

In a bold move (not really), Apple is lifting the restriction that only permitted FaceTime to work over Wi-Fi and not 3G/4G cellular networks. Apple announced this at the Worldwide Developers Conference and no doubt users will be happy since there is not always a Wi-Fi connection available.

This is a highly-requested feature, because users are not always connected to a Wi-Fi signal. Another FaceTime enhancement in iOS 6 includes the unification of a user’s phone number with an Apple ID, which allows calls to be answered on an iPad and Mac. Apple said it is doing the same with iMessage too.

Of course, AT&T is regretting unlimited iPhone data plans and Verizon is phasing out unlimited data plans, in favor of tiered plans, which means just when you can use FaceTime anywhere, anytime - Verizon and possibly AT&T in the near future will slam the door. Personally, I think Apple was slow on the draw on this one. Skype and other mobile VoIP players have worked over cellular networks for awhile now. I think I used FaceTime once, when I first got my iPhone 4S. However, when I went to use it and it didn't work over 3G, I said forget this and switched over to Skype. I'm sure there are many users who tried FaceTime and abandoned it like I did because of its crippled functionality. Question is, will users come back with the new video calling over 3G/4G feature?

Tags: at&t, ios 6, iphone, iphone 4, skype, tiered pricing, unlimited data, verizon, video calls, voip, wwdc Related tags: cellular networks, facetime, apple, users, cellular, plans