TV over IP

Personally, I think that, while there's probably a legitimate argument
in there somewhere, this
fight is extremely silly. Someone is pissed off that someone else
wants to push television over IP. I think it's silly because I "get my
IP" over the same pipe that I get my TV.

The fight is actually an
industry trying to "protect" their income stream and resisting the
economic force created by technological innovation. The situation is
not one that it easily resolved either. "Convergence" involves the
television, telephone, cell phone, wireless ISP, and even the power
companies. Future involvement will probably include the entertainment
industries, various hardware manufacturers and various
governments.

With the move to wireless and IPv6, expect those
industries to spend more and more money on legal support and
advertisements. The industry or industries that come out on top will
probably be the one that offers the most to the customer for the cost.
(This usually translates to the company with the deepest pockets.)

The
problem in the logic in the article is that Verizon and SBC assume that
consumers will want their IP-over-TV from a local "central office".
What they're currently missing is fledging Internet-based TV shows that
already exist and even have an existing distribution infrastructure
(BitTorrent). However, I skeptical enough that I expect at least one
attempt to <a title="Kill it via the courts, then take it over and turn
it into an income stream">Napsterize BitTorrent.

So call me a
pessimist.