FCC Chairman Kevin Martin got some cheers at CTIA’s opening assembly today when he said the commission should reject a petition by Skype to open wireless networks to any device. Martin’s theory: the industry’s own push toward openness makes regulation unnecessary. 

Skype asked the FCC more than a year ago to apply what’s known as the Carterphone decision to wireless networks. That 1968 FCC ruling allowed outside devices to be used on carrier networks as long as they didn’t cause damage and paved the way for many of the devices we rely on today.

AP: Martin: “In light of the industry’s embrace of this more open approach, I think it’s premature for the commission to place any other requirements on these networks. Today I’m going to circulate to my fellow commissioners an order dismissing the petition by Skype that would apply Carterfone requirements to existing wireless networks.”

• Skype Petitions FCC To Open Mobile Networks