AT&T refused to provide 3G network for SlingPlayer Mobile

Peoples attention of the SlingPlayer Mobile software is finally entered the iPhone application store, compared with the pre-release version is not exactly the same. The biggest change is to require AT & T only through the SlingPlayer Mobile software, iPhone's Wi-Fi connectivity, but not the AT & T's 3G network. AT & T spokesman Mark Siegel said the company's terms of service explicitly prohibit the use of software to redirect the television signal, and in the prohibited list of the mobile computer program categories, including the Apple iPhone. AT & T for its reliability and stability of the network said in a. "This is to ensure that all our customers to access wireless networks necessary measures."

Mark Siegel said. The SlingPlayer Mobile client can be used to support the AT & T network to other mobile phone platforms such as Symbian and BlackBerry. Mark Siegel confirmed that the restrictions not only for the iPhone, because AT & T's terms of service for the operation of their networks to all mobile phone platforms.

"AT & T believes that the use of a class of SlingPlayer software, the need to maintain a continuous Internet connection, including through P2P file-sharing applications and server operating system to download movies and other documents, it has the potential to consume a large amount of bandwidth." Mark Siegel added说. He pointed out, AT & T also has a wide range of network coverage, and that is all over the country more than 20,000 Wi - Fi hot spots, IPhone users can access these hot spots free of charge, the use of SlingPlayer Mobile software.

Of course, SlingPlayer Mobile is not the only iPhone is a video streaming player software, iPhone has its own built-in YouTube player. However, AT & T why the differential treatment can deal with YouTube and SlingPlayer? "As the user may use [SlingPlayer] watch a long video, may be caused by network congestion, so difficult to use other clients of the network resources." Mark Siegel said.

SlingPlayer Mobile and AT & T's own mobile TV services to form a competitor. "If you allow the use of SlingPlayer Mobile unlimited choice of live television programs, it would be possible to let our business be affected by mobile TV." Mark Siegel stressed that "the use of SlingPlayer is from a different business model, and mobile TV at present does not support any type of iPhone. "

SlingPlayer software, such as restrictions on the use of such cellular networks is not without precedent. For example, in the CBS in March this year released an NCAA Tournament basketball video program, video streaming is available only through Wi-Fi to connect to 3G. In addition, users from the iPhone and the iTunes store to download the program for more than 10MB of the file, has also been restrictions on the use of AT & T's 3G network.