AT&T turn to the Dark Side
The largest U.S. Broadband Internet provider – AT&T – will begin to deploy anti-piracy technology that might be used to monitor its 13 million customers.
The ISP is deploying fiber optic cable to homes in the US, meaning the company can expand its offerings and provide customers with a cable service. While developing and marketing this service they’re working with the MPAA, Viacom and other content providers. They recently announced that they’ll also be monitoring users’ connections with new anti-piracy technology. Perhaps their associates matter more to them than their customer base? Who knows.
It is unclear to what extent the new anti-piracy technology will affect P2P file sharing and the like, nor to what extent it will effect existing customers (or if it will just effect those that take up the cable offering) but it’s another step from a well known company towards the side of the Big 4 Cartel and their lackeys.
No doubt AT&T have an excellent reason to install the anti-piracy measures, and perhaps it has nothing to do with pandering to the whims of the big companies that they’re now associated with, but it smells of another company being influenced by the might of the Cartel.
Naturally they’re welcome to take whatever steps they feel necessary to protect and further their business, and maybe battling against copyright violations is something that they really do need to do. At the end of the day, though, if its customers start to vote with their feet then the financial repercussions may come back to haunt them.
Related Articles
Del.Icio.Us this! | Digg this! | Reddit this! | Stumble this!
No comments yet