AT&T Introduces "Sponsored Data" Allowing Services to Bypass 4G Data Caps

sirhan writes with news that AT&T has announced a program that allows companies to pay for their services to bypass mobile data caps. "With the new Sponsored Data service, data charges resulting from eligible uses will be billed directly to the sponsoring company ... Customers will see the service offered as AT&T Sponsored Data, and the usage will appear on their monthly invoice as Sponsored Data. Sponsored Data will be delivered at the same speed and performance as any non-Sponsored Data content." The Verge comments: "If YouTube doesn't hit your data cap but Vimeo does, most people are going to watch YouTube. If Facebook feels threatened by Snapchat and launches Poke with free data, maybe it doesn't get completely ignored and fail. If Apple Maps launched with free data for navigation, maybe we'd all be driving off bridges instead of downloading Google Maps for iOS." Or, think of distributed services: Mediagoblin vs Flickr, pump.io vs twitter, ownCloud vs Google Apps. This is probably a sign that data caps are here to stay, at least for AT&T subscribers (and if it's successful...).

Comments

geezer on the deck.

[nimbius]

the realist in me cant wait for this ayn-rand-as-a-service model to fail quietly another testament to ATT's pissbucket service in general. when given the opportunity, people will find other means to consume their favourite-as-a-service product that dont require sponsorship from some obtuse telecommunications conglomerate. every device on the planet has the option to connect to a wireless network, and that network likely doesnt have the kind of caps we're talking about in 4G land. WiMAX and municipal projects, library wireless and other providers will just make the effort that much more futile.

but im an old man (whats berkley vs ATT?) and the last big innovation for me was adding another monitor. Every turtleneck wearing coffee guzzling poseur giving their IDevice shaken-baby-syndrome in cap-induced frustration is instantly drowned out in the roaring cacophany of my mighty model M. Every tween fruit slashing and bird launching their way to mediocrity, tramp stamps and low test scores, is rendered irrelevant by my Thinkpad TrackPoint, gingerly lubricated in years of fine oils from chester cheetah himself. And the road warrior adjacent my supple yet torturous airport lounge chair gazes upon me as some sort of mystic christgod. For from the aether my sorcery has conjured up hundreds of thousands of documents when his most fervent efforts could not. in bated breath he will ask me, "how?" as his battery fails and his wireless bars recede. "local, repository." will be the words I visit upon him and like a cry so maddening unto his ears he will be rendered forever enlightened.

now if you'll please get off my lawn, I need to go back inside. the wheel is on.

These aren't the facts you're looking for.

[rmdingler]

So you mean the people with the money (corporations) would prefer to censor the information the average citizen has access to?

This would be unprecedented.

Re:This is bad

[TWiTfan]

This is bad for the market.

That's unpossible! All my libertarian friends assure me that getting the government off the backs of our noble corporations will result in more freedom and openness, a free market utopia!