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.

In the interim, something unexpected happened: the cellular carriers decided to open up their networks. Verizon was the first to say that it would support any device and any application on its network last November, publishing the technical standards needed to connect to its network earlier this year. Not long afterwards, AT&T followed suit, and Sprint's Xohm WiMAX network will also be open. "In fact, in less than a year, many of you have evolved from vocal opponents to vocal proponents, embracing the open platform concept for your entire networks," Martin said.

Those industry moves were enough to convince Martin that FCC regulation is unnecessary. "In light of the industry's embrace of this more open approach, it would be premature to adopt any other requirements across the industry," Martin said to the audience at CTIA. "Thus, today I will circulate to my fellow commissioners an order dismissing a petition for declaratory ruling filed by Skype that would apply Carterfone requirements to existing wireless networks."

Skype has not yet responded to our request for comment on Martin's remarks, but other groups are already criticizing the decision. "The chairman's decision to oppose this important petition is a missed opportunity to usher in a new era of innovation," said Free Press research director S. Derek Turner in a statement. "The small handful of companies that dominate the wireless world have a track record of stifling competition and an aversion to innovation. Trusting these same companies with the promise of the mobile Web is short-sighted."

During his speech, Martin also touted the success of the recently-concluded 700MHz auction. Noting that the auction raised almost twice the expected $10 billion, Martin expressed his belief that the auction could transform the broadband landscape in the US. He's also banking on auction winners to deliver wireless broadband to those living in rural areas.