Based on what we're hearing, a slate of soon-to-be-proposed FCC rules may stop the likes of Comcast from discriminating against P2P applications on their networks, and AT&T sure will have a tougher time justifying why it won't let the iPhone's version of SlingPlayer run on 3G while giving WinMo and BlackBerry users all the bandwidth they can handle. Julius Genachowski, the new chairman of the entity, is slated to discuss the new rules on Monday, though he isn't expected to dig too deep into the minutiae. Essentially, the guidelines will "prevent wireless companies from blocking internet applications and prevent them from discriminating (or acting as gatekeepers) [against] web content and services." We know what you're thinking: "Huzzah!" And in general, that's probably the right reaction to have as a consumer, but one has to wonder how network quality for all will be affected if everyone is cut loose to, well, cut loose. Oh, and if this forces telecoms to deploy more cell sites to handle the influx in traffic, you can rest assured that the bill will be passed on to you. Ain't nuthin' free, kids.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

It looks like the FCC's investigation into Comcast's questionable traffic management is turning up a number of interesting details, the latest of which comes from AT&T's Robert Quinn, who told FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell that, "use of a P2P file sharing application would constitute a material breach of contract for which the user's service could be terminated." Quinn was apparently quick to add, however, that AT&T hasn't yet kicked anyone off the network for using P2P. Still, Commissioner McDowell apparently intends to use AT&T's statement to argue against the FCC's forthcoming order that contends Comcast secretly downgraded P2P traffic, saying that Comcast's throttling of traffic isn't as bad as AT&T blocking it all together. The merits of that argument aside, as TechDirt points out, given that AT&T's beef with P2P is that it makes use of "continuous (rather than bursty) transmissions at high data rates," their position does open up a number of interesting questions about streaming apps like Pandora, which are similarly data-intensive but, last we checked, still working just fine on AT&T's network.

[Via Tech Dirt]

The folks at TABLETmedia are trying to get you to toss your antiquated walkie-talkie in favor of something a little more au courant, recently releasing its "groundbreaking" iTalkie P2P software for Windows Mobile devices. Aimed squarely at vertical market customers (though nothing's stopping the rest of us), it'll allow for both one-to-one calling and paging over a PA system -- the latter requiring a PC gateway with its sound card plugged into the system itself. It also one-ups the old-school walkie-talkie in one area, with presence indication so you can see when your fellow co-workers are available to chat with/distract from work. If you want to give it a test run, you can snag an extremely time-limited trial version (five minutes of use), or just grab the full version for $29.95. That's for a single device license -- a two-license pack's also available for $39.95, with a 5-license pack including the Windows PC gateway software running you $299.95.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

With the proliferation of 3G bandwidth, mobile P2P (at least on the downstream) becomes an interesting proposal -- especially if you can make it happen without all manner of lawyer types using LBS to track you down. Nareos' PeerBox client, available in Java and S60 flavors, looks to keep you legal by using m2any's audio ID tech to detect copyrighted material while browsing open P2P networks (fairly robustly, we're guessing) and do the quick bait-and-switch, offering you the licensed equivalent for a fee. At the start, the service will be pay-as-you-go, but a subscription model of some sort is promised down the road. Now if we can only overcome our instinctual fear of black helicopters, men in dark suits, and courtrooms whenever we hear "P2P," this might just find its way onto our CU500.