AT&T's HBO Max Deal Was Never Free [telecom]

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By Ernesto Falcon And Katharine Trendacosta

When it launched HBO Max, it was discovered that usage of the service would not count against the data caps of AT&T customers, a practice known as "zero-rating." This means that people on limited data plans could watch as much HBO Max content as they wished without incurring overage fees. AT&T just declared that it would stop this practice, citing California's net neutrality law as a reason. No matter what spin the telecom giant offers, this does not mean something "free" was taken away. That deal was never free to begin with.