Last year, Skype asked the Federal Communications to force wireless phone carriers to allow any device and application to operate on their networks. During a keynote at the CTIA Wireless trade show this morning, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin gave Skype some bad news, saying that he didn't think it was necessary to force the cellular carriers to abide by the 1968 Carterfone decision.

The Carterfone decision forced the telephone companies (AT&T and a bunch of small, local carriers) to allow customers to attach any lawful device to the telephone network, so long as it didn't harm the network. The short-term result was that people no longer had to lease phones from AT&T.

Looking to open a new market, Skype said that the Carterfone decision should apply to wireless carriers as well and that the likes of T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon should be forced allow Skype VoIP traffic over their networks. The company argued that forcing cellular companies to do so would benefit consumers as it would force prices down.

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