A growing chorus claims that Apple’s questionable approval policy for its iPhone application store raises issues with net neutrality.







Free Press, a group that advocates the idea of an open internet — that is, one in which consumers have the right to browse the web and run internet applications without restrictions — is the latest of several organizations to call out Apple for its inconsistencies. Free Press alleges that Apple crippled SlingPlayer, a TV-streaming application for iPhone, so that it would only work on a Wi-Fi connection; the initial version worked with a 3G cellular network connection as well as Wi-Fi. The SlingPlayer restriction is inconsistent with Apple’s approval of the Major League Baseball application, which provides live-streaming of sports events on both Wi-Fi and 3G connections, the group said.

“That strikes us as odd and potentially nefarious because it really represents a carrier picking and choosing applications for consumers as opposed to letting consumers decide which videos they want to watch,” said Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press. “It’s exactly the sort of thing you’d expect in an internet experience that’s controlled by the carrier.”

Now nearly a year old, Apple’s App Store has received as much praise as it has criticism. Featuring more than 50,000 applications, the App Store has made some programmers quite wealthy with sales of their apps while leaving others penniless when their software met the harsh fate of rejection. Apple has said that iPhone and iPod Touch users have downloaded more than 1 billion apps from the store since it opened in July 2008.

IPhone application developer Ben Kahle also feels that Apple is overreaching in its role as a gatekeeper to the mobile internet. In May, Apple rejected Kahle’s app “Me So Holy,” which would have enabled users to fashion their faces into portraits resembling Jesus Christ. Apple said the app contains “objectionable material,” and when Kahle asked if he could modify the app to gain approval, Apple said it would never appear in the App Store under any condition.

Why? Apple said it has a “worldwide market” and must “protect the sensitivity of the customers,” according to Kahle.

“It’s definitely hypocritical,” Kahle said of 3G-capable live-streaming for MLB in relation to SlingPlayer, which is Wi-Fi only. “There needs to be a better system for people to choose the type of content they can download.”

Free Press’ beef has to do with the apparently arbitrary nature of Apple’s choices. In May, SlingMedia told Wired.com it had to modify the SlingPlayer application to work only with Wi-Fi in order to gain Apple’s approval. Apple made that request on behalf of AT&T, whose terms of service states television signals may not be viewed on an device whose internet is provided by AT&T:

downloading movies using P2P file sharing services, redirecting television signals for viewing on Personal Computers, web broadcasting, and/or for the operation of servers, telemetry devices and/or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition devices is prohibited.

An AT&T spokesman explained that a 3G-capable SlingPlayer could potentially strain AT&T’s 3G network. However, Major League Baseball’s streaming video, which provides the same game coverage that you can find on TV broadcasts, can also be considered live television. Thus, the MLB iPhone app also violates AT&T’s terms of service, Scott said.

“If you’re going to allow video to stream on the 3G network, you can’t pick and choose which video services operate,” Scott said. “You have to let them all operate, otherwise that’s not the internet.”

In response to Free Press’ allegations, AT&T said the MLB app streams video from MLB’s website, while SlingPlayer streams from the TV set-top box Slingbox. AT&T also said the company is only trying to ensure all users on its network get the best possible service.

“We’re certainly not crippling any apps,” an AT&T spokesman said. “This is an issue of fairness…. While we would like to support all video services across our network, the reality is that wireless networks simply lack the capacity to support customers streaming hours of cable, satellite or IPTV video programming to individual users.”

AT&T added that an app such as SlingPlayer would create congestion, allowing Sling users to use “more than their fair share” of available network capacity. AT&T added that later this year it will begin upgrading its 3G networks to High Speed Packet Access 7.2 Mbps, which will theoretically double peak speeds of the current network from 3.6 megabits per second to 7.2 Mbps.

However, Ken Biba, founder of wireless consulting firm Novarum, said the rejection of SlingPlayer is clear evidence that AT&T’s network is overloaded, and the problem is likely going to get worse.

“I interpret AT&T’s actions as less about being closed and more about having not enough network capacity,” said Biba, noting that the new iPhone 3GS introduces video recording and uploading — which will clog the network even more.

Biba added that even when carriers roll out the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution cellular network, AT&T’s network capacity will still be insufficient because by then, smartphones will be even more sophisticated and affordable, creating even more congestion.

Shortly after the 2008 launch of the iPhone 3G, Sam Greenholtz, founder of Telecom Pragmatics, told Wired.com that AT&T and Apple were not prepared to service the tremendous growth in iPhone users. Greenholtz stressed that data traffic is the main cause of spotty reception, especially in major metropolitan areas where 3G is being used the most. When a 3G tower gets overloaded with requests it dumps data packets; some users’ phones get no signal at all while others’ default to the slower EDGE network on a less overloaded cell tower.

“AT&T may have had 10,000 users in downtown, and the cell site may have been engineered to handle that many calls, but with this phenomenal buying there are now 20,000 people out there that have AT&T service on the 3G iPhone,” Greenholtz said in 2008.

Free Press’ suggestion to Apple and AT&T for video-streaming applications? Either ban anything that provides live streaming, or approve them all under the condition that developers install code to temporarily disable live-streaming whenever the network doesn’t have the capacity to handle it.

Biba said an even better solution would be if more cities deployed free Wi-Fi coverage to offload the stress from carrier networks.

What should AT&T, Apple and other carriers should do? Add your thoughts in the comments below.

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Photo: MagnusK/Flickr

