Sling granted a FCC hearing with AT&T and their refusal to allow the iPhone app on 3G

[Roundel]

Listening to the live.twit.tv recorded CES broadcast and Leo LaPorte's conversation with Jay Tannenbaum of Sling was interesting. During a radio commercial and supposedly off-mike, they're heard talking about an upcoming meeting where the FCC will be "mediating" a meeting between AT&T and Sling over 3G access for the Sling app on the iPhone.

Jay is overheard saying Sling is going out to testify in front of the FCC regarding the issue of AT&T's unwillingness to grant iPhone apps like Sling's access to 3G. Jay also overheard saying "it's total bullsh-- and the 'fix is in' and they (Sling) are being locked out without a valid reason.

Go to live.twit.tv and listen to today's broadcast (at the 18:36 time index and they discuss this off-air and unknowingly on-air to the 22:30 time index) of their recorded CES shows to hear what they say.

This could get interesting because of the FCC's inquires about AT&T's decisions to limit a wide range of 3G access to different iPhone apps.

Stay tuned.

 

[whmurray]

Listening to the live.twit.tv recorded CES broadcast and Leo LaPorte's conversation with Jay Tannenbaum of Sling was interesting. During a radio commercial and supposedly off-mike, they're heard talking about an upcoming meeting where the FCC will be "mediating" a meeting between AT&T and Sling over 3G access for the Sling app on the iPhone.

Jay is overheard saying Sling is going out to testify in front of the FCC regarding the issue of AT&T's unwillingness to grant iPhone apps like Sling's access to 3G. Jay also overheard saying "it's total bullsh-- and the 'fix is in' and they (Sling) are being locked out without a valid reason.

Go to live.twit.tv and listen to today's broadcast (at the 18:36 time index and they discuss this off-air and unknowingly on-air to the 22:30 time index) of their recorded CES shows to hear what they say.

This could get interesting because of the FCC's inquires about AT&T's decisions to limit a wide range of 3G access to different iPhone apps.

Stay tuned.

AT&T's defense is that they are not doing it, Apple is. Sling should complain to Apple, engaged in an agreement in restraint of trade with AT&T.

It is silly that AT&T permits Sling on GPRS from WM but not from iPhone. The load from this application can hardly be noticeable. AT&T is either in a panic or they are just resisting on general principles. It is amazing that AT&T/Apple are still getting away with this. In the long run, they cannot hold back the tide.

 

[Alli]

If it were AT&T, they wouldn't allow it on WM either. If it were'NT Apple, other carriers (ie non-US) would be able to do it on 3G...but they can't either.

 

[whmurray]

If it were AT&T, they wouldn't allow it on WM either. If it were'NT Apple, other carriers (ie non-US) would be able to do it on 3G...but they can't either.

AT&T permits lots of things on WM that it does not allow on iPhone. Try tethering. What motive would Apple have if not to placate, satisfy, or appease AT&T? Note that it is AT&T, not Apple, that the FCC is pressuring to treat all uses of the Internet the same.

Do not get me wrong. I do not suggest that Apple is innocent in all this. I think that they are colluding with AT&T. But it is AT&T that is messing with us. They have been doing so since the first iPhone. They will continue to do so until they feel the "heat."

I have checked and find that in all of the sixteen European countries where the Sling iPhone app is available, it is WiFi only.

It seems clear that the FCC is on our side. That is heat. (However, the FCC is feeling heat on this issue itself; may lose Comcast appeal on Bittorrent.)

 

[whmurray]

Well, AT&T has finally yielded to the inevitable.

Home Theater: Now You Can Sling on AT&T 3G

They now admit what I have said all along, it is not a big deal. Just in time for the iPad. It should be a great app on the iPad.

Now we only have to wait for Sling and Apple. Should we start a pool as to how long it will take?

Given my experience with Sling over WiFi, the iPhone battery will only support an hour or so of Sling over 3G. The issue is battery life, not bandwidth.

They are still holding out on tethering. Only on the iPhone. They permit it on WM. Microsoft will not play their silly game.

 

[whmurray]

If it were AT&T, they wouldn't allow it on WM either. If it were'NT Apple, other carriers (ie non-US) would be able to do it on 3G...but they can't either.

We will soon know. AT&T has said okay. If it is Apple, that should make no difference.

 

[whmurray]

We will soon know. AT&T has said okay. If it is Apple, that should make no difference.

In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, "That's all, folks."

I just got a Sling update. It says, "3G streaming enabled."

Given that there was hardly a week between AT&T saying that they had no objection and Apple permitting it, makes it pretty hard to make a case, Alli, that it was Apple all along. It was AT&T and Apple in an agreement in restraint of trade.

It is moot now but instead of appealing to the FCC, Sling should have sued for anti-trust.