AT&T has complained to the Federal Communications Commission that Google Voice unfairly blocks calls to rural areas. Apparently Google and other firms do this to avoid getting gouged by “traffic bumping” that allows small phone companies to charge exorbitant fees for voice connections reports googlewatch.

Thus the FCC has sent Google a letter asking if and how Google Voice calls are blocked to rural areas and other questions such as…How does Google inform Google Voice users about any restrictions in the numbers to which calls can be placed using Google Voice? For each functionality for which calls to particular telephone numbers are restricted, please describe the technological means by which those restrictions are implemented. To what extent are each of these Google Voice functionalities offered for free? How does Google currently pay for the service?

Basically what the FCC has done is taken AT&T’s complaint letter, and rewrote it as claims and questions. The FCC does this because they require things explained to them word for word; for the full article hit up the ink.