Place-shifting television services like those provided by SlingMedia and Orb are facing strong opposition from carriers who see the services as potential deal-breakers for their unlimited data plans and serious competitors with their mobile TV services. One issue the debate has raised is the true nature of carriers' unlimited data plans--if they were truly unlimited, such a service shouldn't be a problem. Of course, there is always only so much bandwidth. Bloggers say the carriers are "backwards and short-sighted" for going against what their subscribers want and proactively stepping in to block such services will certainly usher in a fresh wave of negative PR for carriers on the customer care side of things. But place-shifting services like SlingMedia's and Orb's really are a threat to data plans and carriers' mobile TV service alike, and no service provider is willing to assume the role of a dumb pipe.
For more on place-shifting mobile TV:
- take a look at Techdirt's blog entry
- see this article in Forbes