ATT announced last summer that it was going to start filtering traffic for copyrighted content -- so we're still not entirely sure why many in the press seem to think it was something new when discussed at CES a few weeks ago. However, this new burst of attention has many more people pointing out all the reasons this is bad for ATT itself. As we said, this seems to make no sense at all, unless it's some bizarre attempt to come up with an excuse to get rid of net neutrality. In that post, we noted that any filtering would likely open up additional liabilities for ATT, potentially losing its safe harbors from being a service provider (safe harbors that ATT itself spent a lot of effort lobbying to have put into the law). Tim Wu has a lot more detail on that aspect of this plan (which he calls "corporate seppuku"). However, there are many other problems for ATT as well. For example, it won't take long for someone to accuse ATT of violating wiretap laws, a charge which may be accurate. But the biggest point is that this won't even do what they hope it will do. It won't stop unauthorized transfers from happening and it won't reduce network traffic. As we've discussed in the past, every move to do this kind of filtering will only drive up the market for encryption technologies, and that encryption actually adds more overhead to internet traffic. The PC World article linked above notes that 20% of all bittorrent traffic is encrypted, and if that number goes up, as it will under a filtering regime, the network load will only increase. So, if ATT actually thinks (as it sometimes claims) that filtering will decrease the burden on the network, it's likely very mistaken.

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Filed under: Cellphones

var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_goes_corporate_AT_T_announces_business_plan'; Without a 3G iPhone announcement at MacWorld, Apple remains focused on increasing the penetration of their generation-one handset. True to the rumors circulating the intertubes last week, AT&T is now offering the iPhone to business customers. Plans break down as follows:

• 2 year commitment, voice service, and data plan required
  
• $45 per month for unlimited data, visual voicemail, and 200 SMSes; $55 ups the SMS limit to 1,500; $65 for unlimited everything
• An extra $25 per month nabs a 20MB montly data plan good for 29 countries, $60 per month ups the limit to 50MB
  
• Activate by 31 March and qualified accounts will receive a service credit of $25 per month good through 31 December, 2008 -- yeah, that's a sweet deal
  

We have a funny feeling that the timing of this has something to do with IBM's imminent announcement of Lotus Notes mail for the iPhone. Now get on the horn to IT, they'll be dreading your call.

[Thanks, Brandon B.]

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