AT&T blocks iPhone SlingPlayer application on mobile network

AT&T: We Crippled SlingPlayer TV App [All Things Digital]

Sling Media released their SlingPlayer application for the iPhone earlier this week, but it came with a catch. iPhone users who paid $30 for the application could only use the application on a Wi-Fi connection, but not on the AT&T wireless network. SlingPlayer allows users to location shift their television viewing if they have a SlingBox connected to their television and a high speed broadband connection. Mobile SlingPlayer applications are also available for the Windows Mobile and Blackberry operating systems, but both allow streaming of video on mobile wireless networks of respective devices.

When word came down that the iPhone version had blocked usage of the application on AT&T's network, users questioned whether Apple, which distributes the application via iTunes, or AT&T had required the feature block. That question was answered yesterday by AT&T, which released a statement saying that the iPhone really isn't as much a phone as it is a computer, thus it is subject to another set of rules when it comes to how it uses AT&T's network. Here's what AT&T said:

Slingbox, which would use large amounts of wireless network capacity, could create congestion and potentially prevent other customers from using the network. The application does not run on our 3G wireless network. Applications like this, which redirect a TV signal to a personal computer, are specifically prohibited under our terms of service. We consider smartphones like the iPhone to be personal computers in that they have the same hardware and software attributes as PCs.

That said, we don’t restrict users from going to a Web site that lets them view videos. But what our terms and conditions prohibit is the transferring, or slinging, of a TV signal to their personal computer or smartphone.

I've written about the appearance of a double standard when it comes to policy makers views about open access on wired networks versus wireless networks. Now it appears that AT&T wants to create a double standard within its own wireless rules, depending on the device that a user owns. AT&T BlackBerry customers, using the same mobile network as AT&T iPhone customers, have the ability to purchase the BlackBerry SlingPlayer application and not disable their ability to stream video over the mobile network. AT&T iPhone users are blocked from using the SlingPlayer on the mobile network, but users of both devices can surf over to YouTube and stream that site's video to their heart's content.

Clear as mud, right?

AT&T has indicated that it plans to tie its U-Verse video product to the next version of the iPhone, for which it is the sole wireless provider, via a specialized application. Hmmm. I wonder if AT&T's actions with regard to the SlingPlayer have anything to do with those plans.

Comments

[Mark]

This is why I have Orb installed on my Media Center. Orb allows me to do the very same thing as a SlingBox, but it is free. I have the Orb application installed on my iPhone, and I watch TV, movies, and stream music all the time on both AT&T's mobile network, as well as WiFi. If AT&T continues to restrict what you can and can't do with their mobile network, or internet connections, I'll simply switch back to Verizon, and enjoy their faster, more reliable, and cheaper mobile network / internet. Hmm.... why did I switch in the first place?? Oh yeah... the iPhone is not CDMA.... yet.

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