“AT&T told Wired.com that a 3G-capable SlingPlayer for iPhone would violate AT&T’s terms of service,” Brian X. Chen reports for Wired. “An AT&T spokesman explained that a 3G-capable SlingPlayer could potentially strain AT&T’s 3g network.”
“Slingbox, which would use large amounts of wireless network capacity, could create congestion and potentially prevent other customers from using the network,” an AT&T spokesman said. “The application does not run on our 3G wireless network. Applications like this, which redirects 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,” the spokesman added. “But what our terms and conditions prohibit is the transferring, or slinging, of a TV signal to their personal computer or smartphone.”
Chen reports, “The SlingPlayer mobile app will enable iPhone users to stream video from a Slingbox device hooked up to a TV. Apple’s requirement to make the app Wi-Fi only raises a brow, as other AT&T handsets, such as the BlackBerry Bold, support a 3G-capable SlingPlayer app.”
More in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: No brows raised here, as iPhone users are several times more likely to be using AT&T’s network for slinging around video than Blackberry luddites. AT&T could allow BlackBerrys to stream 1080p HD video 24/7/365 since they know that the CrackBerry thumb-typers are all way, way too busy sending constant — but, thankfully, low-network-impact — streams of inane text emails to each other throughout every waking moment of their afflictive, insipid lives.
