Verizon is reportedly set to begin testing a sponsored data program that would let companies pay Verizon to deliver online services without using up customers' data plans. The news comes from a Re/code interview with Verizon Executive VP Marni Walden. “The capabilities we’ve built allow us to break down any byte that is carried across our network and have all or a portion of that sponsored,” Walden told Re/code.

Verizon will start testing sponsored data "in the next few days" with a few partners and will make it widely available early next year, Re/code reported. “We’ll be out in a larger commercial way in the first quarter of 2016,” Walden said.

The sponsored data program would presumably target just the Verizon Wireless portion of the company's business. Verizon home Internet service has no strict data cap.

AT&T began charging content providers for sponsored data in early 2014, and some advertisers have paid AT&T to deliver ads without counting against caps. AT&T customers can also use the application "Data Perks" to get additional mobile data in exchange for signing up for offers from various companies.

T-Mobile has been exempting (also known as "zero-rating") numerous streaming music and video services from its data limits, but it has not charged other companies for the data exemptions. According to Re/code, Verizon will be charging.

Some net neutrality advocates argue that sponsored data gives unfair advantages to big content providers and gives carriers too much influence over what services consumers access. But the Federal Communications Commission hasn't stepped in to stop any sponsored data programs.

Back in July, Verizon said its Go90 mobile video service would include "ad-sponsored data," FierceWireless reported at the time.

We asked Verizon for more details on its sponsored data plans, but the company declined to comment. Verizon did confirm that the Re/code story is accurate.