FCC opens public inquiry into wireless industry

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission approved a public inquiry into the wireless industry, which could result in more regulation for the sector, the Wall Street Journal Reports. The FCC also announced an investigation into industry innovation and competition.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that the organization should be "relentless" in developing policies that maximize industry potential.

Federal scrutiny of the wireless industry has been gaining momentum since June, when several U.S. senators first urged the FCC to investigate exclusivity deals between manufacturers and network carriers, as we reported, and since President Obama's pick for FCC Chairman, Genachoswki, took the reigns of the organization.

Since that time, several major companies involved in the wireless business have been questioned by the organization. In July, the FCC began investigating Google, AT&T, and Apple after the Google Voice app was blocked from Apple's App Store. Google Voice lets users route phone calls to a single number and access visual voicemail and text messages online, and, like Skype, it could change how users take advantage of phone features.

The FCC is also likely to review the possibility of price caps on network connections that transfer data and voice between carriers. In June, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and other small networks asked the FCC to set the caps. AT&T and Verizon own 80 to 90 percent of the network connections, as we reported.