Looks like nation's largest wireless provider is running scared that SlingPlayer for iPhone will be approved in the near future. As a result, some changes have recently made their way into the Empire's Wireless Data Terms and Conditions to outlaw all placeshifting devices from their network.

From the AT&T Wireless Data Terms and Conditions:

"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."

The fact that verbage has been added just before SlingPlayer landed on the data hungry iPhone implies that it's targeted directly at the Slingbox. 

How they're going to enforce it is a different matter, given the number of Slingers on their network already.  Anyone know if AT&T is rolling out a clone army along with other network enhancements?

[Thanks drs]

UPDATE: According to this post on Engadget, AT&T has retracted their new terms of service, issuing the following statement:

"The language added on March 30 to AT&T's wireless data service Terms and Conditions was done in error. It was brought to our attention and we have since removed it. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

Except I just looked now, and the language (at least the part that says "customer initiated redirection of television or other video or audio signals via any technology from a fixed location to a mobile device") has not since been removed. Maybe this statement was a bit ahead of the correction, but until the language is off their site, SlingCommunity isn't calling it "retracted." We'll check again in a little while...

Okay, it looks like AT&T finally got their act together and updated their TOS to it's less strict form. We're happy now.

Read More In: News, Rumors and Gossip Sling Media Hardware SlingPlayer Mobile iPhone / iPod Touch Mobile Phones / Portable Devices