HBO, Showtime Striking Special, Cap-Exempt Deals With ISPs Anonymous sources tell the Wall Street Journal that HBO and Showtime have been in talks with broadband providers over deals that would give their upcoming streaming services special priority transit over carrier networks (not to be confused with the kind of interconnection deals seen with Netflix). More than that, the report claims that the deals would potentially zero rate the companies' apps -- or exempt them from any monthly usage caps: quote: The other benefit: A separate lane would be exempt from monthly data-usage thresholds operators enforce for public Internet traffic, saving customers from the surcharges that can kick in if they binge on too many episodes of “Game of Thrones” or “Homeland." Now it's possible the source or the Journal didn't fully understand the nature of the deal, but it if it's true that Showtime and HBO are looking for cap exemption, that would certainly set off regulatory neutrality bells. The FCC's new net neutrality rules don't outright prohibit zero-rated apps, but the rules state the FCC will take a look at such deals on a "case by case basis" in order to determine anti-competitive ramifications. Now it's possible the source or the Journal didn't fully understand the nature of the deal, but it if it's true that Showtime and HBO are looking for cap exemption, that would certainly set off regulatory neutrality bells. The FCC's new net neutrality rules don't outright prohibit zero-rated apps, but the rules state the FCC will take a look at such deals on a "case by case basis" in order to determine anti-competitive ramifications. "The Commission expressly reserves the authority to take action if a service is, in fact, providing the functional equivalent of broadband Internet access service or is being used to evade the open Internet rules," notes the FCC in its order (pdf). "The Commission will vigilantly watch for such abuse, and its actions will be aided by the existing transparency requirement that non-broadband Internet access service data services be disclosed." If the Journal report is accurate, HBO and Showtime appear to be the first companies eager to test precisely what the FCC defines as unfair advantages and anti-competitive behavior. If the Journal report is accurate, HBO and Showtime appear to be the first companies eager to test precisely what the FCC defines as unfair advantages and anti-competitive behavior.







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Most recommended from 82 comments



lefear

@frontiernet.net 4 recommendations lefear Anon Net Neutrality Ruling The FCC should make a statement that if video streaming sites and ISP want to cap exempt then the ISP has to make all video streaming sites cap exempt. Otherwise it is just giving unfair advantage to streaming sites that can afford it.

beans

@verizon.net 3 recommendations beans Anon unlimited data Just bring back unlimited data so nobody is complaining about unfair practices.

whfsdude

Premium Member

join:2003-04-05

Washington, DC 2 recommendations whfsdude Premium Member No Exemption There should be no exemption to data caps. HBO and Showtime should build out a peering network and buy paid transit where appropriate.



Suggesting they should be able to pay to be exempt from caps is bullshit. It would create an unequal playing field for other entering the video market.



It also hides the cost of paying for broadband, so you're paying for your connection to the internet, and then paying another fee to HBO and Showtime so they can turnaround and pay your internet provider to exempt you from caps. No thanks.

maartena

Elmo

Premium Member

join:2002-05-10

Orange, CA 2 recommendations maartena Premium Member Net Neutrality works BOTH ways. You can't have the cake and then eat it too. With this, HBO would have an unfair advantage over say... Netflix and Amazon Prime, who would still count against caps.



Data caps is one thing, but Net Neutrality purists would agree that IF data caps indeed exists, they should be the same for everything, and not give advantage to SOME companies, but not to OTHER companies.



CBS, Sling, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu might just be going: wait just a minute here.... why is HBO not counted towards caps and we are? This is going to be trouble.



Personally, I think caps on FIXED lines (wireless is different) should be completely abolished, but if they are not the Net Neutrality rules should still apply to them.

telcodad

MVM

join:2011-09-16

Lincroft, NJ 2 recommendations telcodad MVM Cap Exemptions for a Fee quote: Early last year we noted that AT&T, the company that really started the network neutrality debate to begin with, had come up with yet another awful new idea: charging app makers a fee if they wanted to send data to consumers without impacting their usage caps. While AT&T presented the idea as akin to a 1-800 number for data or "free shipping," what it actually is a troll toll imposed by AT&T allowing them to rake in new cash -- and impose their power on a content ecosystem and app marketplace that operates better with companies like AT&T out of the way.



AT&T then proceeded to insist that some un-named content companies were begging for this kind of system, said companies apparently oblivious to the fact that such a system would not only put content companies in the position of having to subsidize AT&T's network, but would also place AT&T in position to determine market winners and losers.



Now a report in the Wall Street Journal strongly suggests that ESPN was at least one of the companies engaged in those conversations ... That is exactly what AT&T was offering content suppliers with their wireless service a while ago: » Companies Avoiding AT&T's 'Free Shipping' Data Idea So Far