VoIP-Pal Files Antitrust Suit Over Unbundled Wi-Fi Calling

After years of patent infringement fights, VoIP-Pal is shifting to a legal focus on antitrust complaints, CEO Emil Malak wrote Tuesday. Patent litigation is "a lengthy and uncertain process," while antitrust "offers a more streamlined and direct approach." The company last week dropped a complaint filed in August against AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (docket 1:24-cv-02395) and on the same day filed with the same court a complaint against AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom. In that complaint (docket 1:2024-cv-03051), VoIP-Pal said the defendants use their marketplace dominance to hurt competition. In addition, it said they violated Section 251 of the Telecommunications Act by deliberately withholding unbundled Voice over Wi-Fi calling and texting from consumers. Moreover, the carriers "maintained an unfair monopoly" by using VoIP-Pal routing classification technology without authorization.