AT&T has approved Sling Media's SlingPlayer Mobile
application for use on its 3G network. The decision means that iPhone owners
that have downloaded the application and use the service can watch their
television shows on the go, without the need for a WiFi signal. Apple just
needs to approve the upgraded version of the app, which has been in the works
since December.
The decision is great for Sling Media, which will have one
of the killer applications on the iPhone when it gets approved, and not so
great for Apple, which will have a serious competitor to its iTunes store,
which is built into the iPhone.
There have been other applications, such as MLB.com's At
Bat, which also allowed streaming over 3G. Sling's app lets users watch TV from
the iPhone, or view programs recorded on their DVR at home.
"The key for us is Sling Media was willing to work with us
to revise the app to make it more bandwidth sensitive," said Ralph de la Vega,
president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "They made
important changes to more efficiently use 3G network bandwidth and conserve
wireless spectrum so that we were able to support the app on our 3G mobile
broadband network."
