AT&T Gives Own TV Service Preferential Treatment, Then Denies It Consumer groups say AT&T is using its latest data-cap exemptions to prop up its satellite-TV business and put competitors at a distinct disadvantage. AT&T announced its plan to "zero rate" the company's own content from wireless usage caps yesterday, likely hoping the Apple and Sony press conferences would distract most tech journalists from the news (that unsurprisingly appears to have worked). Under the proposal, users that subscribe to both AT&T wireless and DirecTV service can stream DirecTV content without it counting against their shared data plan allotments.

AT&T acquired DirecTV in a $69 billion deal last year. Consumer advocacy group Free Press was quick to point out that AT&T's plan puts streaming competitors at a distinct disadvantage. "This isn’t really free data," Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood said of AT&T's latest effort. "It’s a way for AT&T to keep you paying for two services instead of one, and a roadblock designed to prevent you from using your data on any content AT&T doesn’t own." “The anti-competitive implications for the video market are clear as a bell," said Wood. "Locking internet users into old-fashioned pay-TV subscriptions, or even steering them toward those subscriptions and toward the broadband providers’ own video content, may be great business for AT&T. But it’s a bad deal for internet users and competing content creators.” The FCC has taken heat for not following a laundry list of other countries and banning such practices outright when crafting net neutrality rules. And while the FCC said it would take a look at the anti-competitive impact of companies favoring their own content in this fashion on a case by case basis, so far they've done absolutely nothing to deter the behavior. As a result Verizon, AT&T and Comcast now all exempt their own content from usage caps, and Sprint and T-Mobile have launched confusing plans that charge users a premium to avoid the throttling of games, videos and music. "We are not treating our services differently from any other data."

-AT&T, after launching a program that gives its own services cap-exempt status while automatically penalizing services like Netflix And this is likely only AT&T testing the water ahead of a much broader implementation of the same idea. Later this year the company plans to launch And this is likely only AT&T testing the water ahead of a much broader implementation of the same idea. Later this year the company plans to launch three new DirecTV branded streaming services to compete with Netflix that are also expected to not count against AT&T wireless usage allotments. However according to AT&T, the company isn't violating net neutrality, or treating its own service any differently. "We are not treating our services differently from any other data," AT&T claims, despite the very obvious fact that they are. "This feature is simply our way of saying thanks to customers that purchase both video and mobility services from AT&T." Despite being technically the same corporate entity, AT&T has been telling media outlets that DirecTV pays AT&T to have cap-exempt status, and that any other company can also pay AT&T for the same preferential treatment if they sign up for AT&T's "sponsored data" program. While the FCC launched an "informal inquiry" back in January to examine the anti-competitive impact of such behavior, there has been no word since on any notable policy decisions from the agency, so we asked for an update. "The Commission's informal policy review is ongoing," the FCC said to DSLReports.com in a statement. "Chairman Wheeler said the Commission would keep an eye on new developments in this area and we are continuing to do so." While the FCC "keeps an eye" on things, ISPs continue to test the boundaries of the agency's net neutrality rules, and are so far discovering...there aren't any. While the FCC "keeps an eye" on things, ISPs continue to test the boundaries of the agency's net neutrality rules, and are so far discovering...there aren't any.







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Most recommended from 22 comments

jorcmg

join:2002-10-24

USA 16 recommendations jorcmg Member Now that is funny. "AT&T has been telling media outlets that DirecTV pays AT&T to have cap-exempt status"



I do this sometimes too. You know, take money from my left pocket and put it in my right pocket. tpkatl

join:2009-11-16

Dacula, GA 10 recommendations tpkatl Member Anyone with a mind knew this was going to happen This was such and obvious move for AT&T and likely a prime motivation for AT&T to buy in the first place.



The problem is that Wheeler and the FCC had a chance to nip this in the bud (with T-mobile) and they squandered it. Now that is precedent, and the FCC cannot turn it around.



And to think that AT&T was instrumental in inventing the internet. Now they are instrumental in destroying it.