by Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

AT&T Inc. on Tuesday said it will open up its 3G network to Internet phone apps on Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

The move reverses a ban by AT&T (NYSE:T) on iPhone users making phone calls using Skype and other Internet phone services on its high-speed 3G network. The company hadn't blocked other types of cell phones from using VoIP on the network.

IPhone owners could use VoIP to make calls but needed to use Internet hot-spots and wi-fi networks, not the AT&T 3G network.

The AT&T ban came under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission after it was reported that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had rejected Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google Voice software, preventing it from being offered on the iPhone App Store.

AT&T has denied playing any role in Apple's Google Voice decision and said that it doesn't believe Google's app is a VoIP service that would be affected by Tuesday's move.