April 3rd, 2009
AT&T updates wireless plans, prohibits Slingbox
Public Knowledge’s Robb Topolsky reports that AT&T Wireless quietly changed its service terms after a Chicago AT&T subscriber received a $28,000 mobile bill after watching a Bears football game on his notebook computer via Slingbox.
The customer was waiting for his cruise to depart from Miami when his AT&T wireless data card inadvertently picked up an international signal resulting in massive roaming charges.
Topolsky notes that AT&T wireless now prohibits services like the Slingbox and other video Web sites while exempting its own video offerings. The new Terms Of Service (TOS) reads (changes emphasized):
This means, by way of example only, that checking email, surfing the Internet, downloading legally acquired songs, and/or visiting corporate intranets is permitted, but 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, web broadcasting, and/or for the operation of servers, telemetry devices and/or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition devices is prohibited.
It’s funny how AT&T responds to their own mistake/PR debacle by revising their TOS to prohibit the “customer initiated redirection of television or other video or audio signals via any technology.”
Topolsky also notes that the following language was also added to AT&T’s wireless TOS:
On the 5GB DataConnect Plan, once you exceed your 5GB allowance you will be automatically charged $0.00048 per Kb for any data used. On the 200MB Data Connect Plan, once you exceed your 200MB allowance, you will be automatically charged $10 for an additional 100MB. Unused data from either your initial allowance or any overage allowance (e.g., the 100MB) will not be carried over to the next billing period; all data allowances must be used in the billing period in which the allowance is provided. On other plans with a monthly megabyte or gigabyte allowance, once you exceed your allowance you will be automatically charged overage as specified in the applicable rate plan information.
It remains to be seen how the new TOS will affect iPhone users, but it’s definitely a step in the wrong direction.
Questions left for AT&T Wireless’ PR representatives were not answered at press time.
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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