With the onslaught the iPhone is unleashing on wireless data networks worldwide, coupled with the dramatic increase in online video streaming and available content, wireless networks of late have been touchy with allowing any streaming whatsoever to take place on their not so physical pipes. AT&T has been in the news repeatedly for less than kosher business tactics with one of the more popular instances being the on again/off again allowance of 3G streaming with the Slingbox iPhone app. (Now I’m singling out the iPhone and Slingbox app because it has garned the most media attention, but it is certainly not the only case)
AT&T originally added verbiage in their ToS that prohibited any streaming over 3G connections. Their response was that their networks couldn’t handle it and that they wanted to provide the best possible experiece for all users. After much outrage and public disapproval, AT&T removed the wording. All was not peachy however as but a mere few days later, AT&T reinstated the same wording. What really makes the situation scandalous is that while Slingbox for iPhone is banned from streaming over 3G, the MLB.com iPhone app has passed through AT&T’s radars unnoticed.
First of all, we can see AT&T doesn’t know what the hell they are doing. Second, anyone with the intelligence of rock or greater can see that AT&T is either playing blatant favoritism, or, that they are getting a little something extra slipped under the table. Naturally, AT&T responded to this claim with a completely baseless and incompitent (I really like that word) response that didn’t even come close to answering the question: “Why can the MLB app do what every other streaming app can’t — stream over 3G?
AT&T’s response:
AT&T said the MLB app streams video from MLB’s website, while SlingPlayer streams from the TV set-top box Slingbox. AT&T also said the company is only trying to ensure all users on its network get the best possible service.
“We’re certainly not crippling any apps,” an AT&T spokesman said. “This is an issue of fairness…. While we would like to support all video services across our network, the reality is that wireless networks simply lack the capacity to support customers streaming hours of cable, satellite or IPTV video programming to individual users.”
Again, the statement is baseless and completely avoids answering the question. I hate to break it to those lesser than intelligent rocks over at AT&T that it doesn’t matter where the device is being streamed from whether it be website, inhome box, etc, having the actually 1′s and 0′s sent over the network is no different from one another. But, as usual, AT&T will play the blame game, cook up stupid answers that don’t answer any questions, and neglect to upgrade their network in a timely fashion. Heck, by the time 7.2 Mbps speeds actually become widely useable in the States, iPhone 4.0 will be on the way out. Way to go AT&T, I guess you like would like to paint an even bigger picture of suck all over your face.
Source: Tech Dirt, Image Source
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