Since Tuesday, Skype for iPhone has been downloaded more than a million times—that’s a rate of six downloads a second, according to the company. All this despite the fact the software only works via the iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection, and not AT&T’s 3G network. That restriction has angered some, who have argued that the practice is anti-competitive.
Looks like AT&T’s taking some aggressive steps to manage network traffic now that it’s offering subsidized netbooks – the carrier updated its data plan terms of service last night to specifically single out and prohibit “downloading movies using P2P file sharing services, customer initiated redirection of television or other video or audio signals.
MojoKid writes “Just one day after announcing plans to subsidize netbooks, AT&T wised up to the fact that those netbooks and connections could be used to download movies and enjoy other bandwidth-intensive applications. Apparently trying to avoid bogging down their network, the company revised its data plan service terms to single out and prohibit ‘downloading movies using P2P file-sharing services, customer initiated redirection of television or other video or audio signals via any technology from a fixed location to a mobile device, and web broadcasting…’ The license agreement further prohibits tethering the device to PCs or other equipment. That’s a pretty strict set of rules. After all, the new terms of service seems to limit applications such as SlingPlayer, Qik, Skype, and Jaikuspot, which many AT&T customers are currently using without issue.” Update — April 4, 02:50 GMT by SS: Reader evn points out an Engadget report that AT&T quickly retracted the changes.
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1sockchuck writes “FBI agents have raided a Dallas data center, seizing servers at a company called Core IP Networks. The company’s CEO has posted a message saying the FBI confiscated all its customer servers, including gear belonging to companies that are almost certainly not under suspicion. The FBI isn’t saying what it’s after, but there are reports that it’s related to video piracy, sparking unconfirmed speculation that the probe is tied to the leaking of Wolverine.”
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Macworld is reporting that an internet advocacy group has asked the FCC to investigate whether the WiFi-only restriction on the Skype for iPhone app is in violation of federal law. “Since its release on Tuesday, Skype for iPhone has been downloaded more than a million times — that’s a rate of six downloads a second, according to the company. All this despite the fact the software only works via the iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection, and not AT&T’s 3G network. […] The letter cites the FCC’s Internet Policy Statement (PDF link) which states that ‘consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice’ in order to ‘preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet.'”
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Hugh Pickens writes “A Pew study last year found that only 38 percent of rural American homes have access to broadband Internet, compared to 57 percent in cities and 60 percent in the suburbs. All that could be about to change with the announcement that Verizon plans to start introducing a new wireless network in the 700 MHz spectrum in 2010. ‘The licenses we bought in the 700MHz auction cover the whole US,’ says Tony Melone, a Verizon Wireless VP. ‘And we plan to roll out LTE [high-speed mobile service] throughout the entire country, including places where we don’t offer our [current] cell phone service today.’ Because the [700 MHz] spectrum is in a lower frequency, it can transmit signals over longer distances and penetrate through obstacles, and because the signals travel longer distances, Verizon can deploy fewer cell towers than if it used spectrum from a higher frequency band, which means it can provide coverage at a lower cost. President Obama’s administration is well aware of the high-speed Internet divide that exists today, and as part of the overall economic stimulus package passed by Congress, the government is allocating .2 billion for projects that bring broadband Internet access to rural towns and communities.”
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The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 introduced in the Senate would allow the president to shut down private Internet networks. The legislation also calls for the government to have the authority to demand security data from private networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule or policy restricting such access.
Nicolas Dawson points out coverage in Mother Jones of the early stages of a new cybersecurity bill that conveys sweeping powers on the President. Quoting: “The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (PDF) gives the president the ability to ‘declare a cybersecurity emergency’ and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any ‘critical’ information network ‘in the interest of national security.’ The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president. The bill… also grants the Secretary of Commerce ‘access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access.’ This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws.”
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plasticsquirrel was one of several readers to send in the sharpening rumors that IBM is on the verge of acquiring Sun Microsystems, as we discussed last week. The pricetag is reportedly billion. According to the NYTimes’s sources, “People familiar with the negotiations say a final agreement could be announced Friday, although it is more likely to be made public next week. IBM’s board has already approved the deal, they said.” After the demise of SGI, one has to wonder about the future of traditional Unix. If the deal goes through, only IBM, HP, and Fujitsu will be left as major competitors in the market for commercial Unix. And reader UnanimousCoward adds, “Sun only came into the consciousness of the unwashed masses with the company not being able to get E10K’s out the door fast enough in the first bubble. We here will remember some pizza-box looking thing, establishing 32 MB of RAM as a standard, and when those masses were scratching their heads at slogans like ‘The Network is the Computer.’ Add your favorite Sun anecdote here.”
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An anonymous reader writes “After coverage here on Slashdot and elsewhere, Cheryl Preston has responded. She says that ‘some netizens have missed the mark by turning the rather hum-drum constituency formation issue into a rash of (admittedly sometimes quite humorous) charges, allegations, and ad hominem attacks. I can only wish that I had control of some global Mormon conspiracy network, that this were a money-making proposition, and that my powers of persuasion could possibly move ICANN to adopt a content regulatory system…in reality, the CyberSafety constituency is interested in many current GNSO issues, such as Fast Flux Hosting (FFH); the development of a Registrants’ Rights Charter; the gathering of identity information on WHOIS; and public order issues with the granting of new Top Level Domain names, to name a few.'”
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