AT&T just declared war on an open internet (and us) [telecom]

"Mobilizing Your World" sounds like a threat now

by T.C. Sottek

Last year we won the open internet back, but the new regulations had one big weakness: they didn't explicitly ban a scheme called "zero rating." Zero rating is a poison pill wrapped in a piece of cheese; it looks like a good thing for consumers (free video!), but ultimately has the capability to rot competition and the open internet. The FCC decided it would look at zero rating schemes on a case-by-case basis, which left the door open for wireless companies to play their usual games. AT&T just broke that door off its hinges.

Last night AT&T made a dim prophecy official by announcing that its new DirecTV Now streaming service would be zero rated: it won't count against its customers' data caps. Zero rating isn't new - T-Mobile has been writing the manual on how to get away with it - but now it's finally happening at a scale that matters. And AT&T's version is much worse than T-Mobile's.

Reply to
Bill Horne
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