Anyone using 3G Flat-rate data for VoIP / Video / Music / etc?



I'm thinking of upgrading my (knackered) P910i to either an HTC TYTN or
P990. Rather than just buy the latest gadget, I'm actually looking for
a new world of functionality when I upgrade to these devices.

What that really means, is being able to connect to Orb on my PC, so I
can occasionally stream live TV; last night's Top Gear; my home webcam;
or other feeds, live to my mobile device; usually by WiFi, but
sometimes by 3G. Or connect to my PC at home using VNC to check a file.
Or be sitting in a park, and download a suitable track from my PC-based
home collection to my mobile device, to play there and then. All
seamlessly, all smoothly.

Of course, the TYTN, and perhaps the P990, will be able to do these
things, and some operators (like T-Mobile) are launching "Flat rate"
Data Services - and then slapping restrictions on them prohibiting
Streaming Video, VoIP, or connection to a laptop; basically, everything
that actually makes HSDPA and multimedia handsets worthwhile!!!!!!!

Now, I'm not intending to "extract the urine" on any of this; I'd only
use HSDPA if there was no WiFi coverage, or for ad-hoc downloads. I'd
almost certainly not use P2P. But I would like to watch the occasional
episode whilst sat in the park, or watch a football game streamed from
my home PC, or download a movie to edit or check my work email via my
laptop.


Soo... I was wondering: does anyone know how these companies are going
to manage these restrictions? Will they use sophisticated packet
monitor / session reconstruction farms to closely monitor for any
prohibited activity? Will they just block those ports commonly used for
Skype, Bittorrent or WMP10? Or will they just trigger a review of any
accounts using a stupid level of traffic (eg. >5Gb/mo)? (How can they
know you're connecting from a laptop anyway??) And once they spot you,
will they give a warning, cut off your account, charge you a per-MB
rate for the overuse, or terminate your contract?

Basically, can I ignore the restrictions as long as I'm careful? Or is
it absolutely not going to work? Is anyone doing these things at the
moment?


Damian

.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Anyone using 3G Flat-rate data for VoIP / Video / Music / etc?
    ... I'm thinking of upgrading my P910i to either an HTC TYTN or ... Or be sitting in a park, and download a suitable track from my PC-based ... Streaming Video, VoIP, or connection to a laptop; ...
    (uk.telecom.mobile)
  • Re: Hello RPCA
    ... I"m glad Pan is still enjoying life. ... > yesterday, I completed my participation in National Novel Writing Month, ... > new laptop interchangeably, as is my intention, my old computer will need ... > I have about $1,200 to spend on the laptop, but upgrading my desktop ain't ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
  • Re: RISC OS Updater? (Was: Re: Tinct for FF beta2)
    ... > Windows XP gives you several options re upgrading. ... > let XP download and install, download only, or do nothing and let you ... I choose the middle option which gives me a ...
    (comp.sys.acorn.apps)
  • Re: My reason to upgrade 10.0 to 10.1
    ... I have recently upgraded 10.0 to 10.1 on my laptop and I'm generally very ... + KDE much more stable. ... not attempting to configure my card. ... laptop or a home desktop it's worth upgrading. ...
    (alt.os.linux.suse)
  • A Gutsy upgrade story
    ... upgrading to the RC of 7.10. ... mostly to do with bringing the network back up when it resumed. ... Under Gutsy suspend and hibernate work flawlessly. ... Under Feisty this laptop would not hibernate. ...
    (Ubuntu)

Loading