Should internet users have unfettered access to any service and any application on any device? Or do network operators have the right to place limits on what their customers can do? The current spat between Google and AT&T has thrown that question into sharp relief and served to dramatise a simmering disagreement that has finally found its way to the top of the regulatory agenda.

At issue is Google Voice, a service that makes it easier for users to bypass telecom companies – and their tolls – when placing calls. Apple’s decision to keep the service off the iPhone, for which AT&T is the exclusive network provider in the US, has drawn the scrutiny of regulators – though the telecom company drew blood last week with a counter-claim that Google Voice also restricts choice by limiting access to some phone numbers. Although AT&T has a point, this seems a diversionary tactic.