In defense of its decision to restrict FaceTime video calling over cellular networks only to those iPhone users who opt for the carrier's new, shared data plans, AT&T said on Wednesday that its move does not amount to any violation of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s net neutrality regulations.

AT&T went on the offensive after a few consumer groups - including Public Knowledge - claimed that AT&T would apparently be violating the net neutrality rules laid down by the FCC if it limits iPhone's `FaceTime over cellular' advantage only to the subscribers of its shared data plans.

According to John Bergmayer, a senior staff attorney at Public Knowledge, AT&T's decision to block FaceTime for several of its customers would mean that the carrier is violating FCC's net neutrality regulations, which prohibit the carriers from blocking applications which compete with their voice or video telephony services.

However, dismissing the claims as a mere "knee jerk reaction," AT&T's Bob Quinn said in a Wednesday blog post: "Some groups have rushed to judgment and claimed that AT&T's plans will violate the FCC's net neutrality rules."

Noting that the two essential components of the net neutrality rules include transparency with regard to network management practices, and a prohibition on blocking apps which challenge a mobile provider's voice or video telephony services, Quinn said that the AT&T move violated neither of the conditions; and added that the arguments of the consumer groups were "wrong."