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T-Mobile Gives Customers Free Pokemon Go Data (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the slow,-sweet-death-to-net-neutrality dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report from The Verge: T-Mobile has been a pioneer in giving special treatment to various apps and types of content used on its mobile network, and the carrier announced today that Pokemon Go will be joining its enclave of free data. Starting on July 19th, T-Mobile customers will have Pokemon Go data exempted from their high-speed data caps for a year. The company is also throwing in some other perks, like $15 in Lyft rides ("to get to a new pokestop or gym"), and a free Wendy's Frosty, making the slow death of net neutrality literally sweet.

5 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. net neutrality by locopuyo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    doesn't this violate net neutrality?

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    The Official Site of 1337 Pwnage
    1. Re:net neutrality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's not how Net Neutrality works.

      They are giving preferential treatment to Pokemon GO over other apps. Pokemon GO's data is privileged over other data.

      If customers actually care about which games use their data and which ones don't, this means Pokemon GO has a clear advantage in the market.

    2. Re:net neutrality by EmeraldBot · · Score: 3, Insightful

      doesn't this violate net neutrality?

      how would it violate net neutrality?

      First T-mobile doesn't stop data, it just slows it at a certain data level (depending on your plan). So no matter what website/app you're not getting blocked and if you haven't reached your data level you'll be at the same speed.

      Second T-mobile is doing this as a benefit to its customers. Its a perk. Its not charging us differently, its not charging Pokemon Go to do this. etc.

      Third because it doesn't count against your data cap, you can use the data you would have used playing pokemon-go on the other apps.

      I see no reason why this would be a bad thing for anyone except ATT, Sprint and Verizon...

      It's not bad with Pokemon Go, but what if they offered free data for Netflix but not for Amazon Prime Video, for example? While I don't think T-mobile has done anything wrong here, and I like that they're giving out little benefits, we need to be very careful of the precedent we risk setting. It's fine to give out free data for an app which has no direct competition, but once we start moving into custom stores or services, then I think that, faced with one being free data and the other not, I think the choice is pretty clear what most people are going to make, and it becomes easy for somebody like ATT and Verzion to partner with Netflix and drive out all competition, in exchange for a cut of Netflix's profits. It literally becomes unprofitable to make a competition video service in such a case.

      --
      "Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
    3. Re:net neutrality by DrXym · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It violates net neutrality by incentivizing customers to prefer the app which doesn't hit their bandwidth allocation over the one that does. It is quite obvious how that could be detrimental.

  2. Nothing to do with Net Neutrality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Much like when people scream the 2nd Amendment when a private company declines to allow you to say your piece whenever you want, people will scream Net Neutrality at this.

    This was not an agreement between Tmobile and Nintendo (or peering systems) to prioritize data.
    This was not Tmobile accelerating or throttling data.
    This was not Tmobile affecting the transfer of data at all.

    This was Tmobile making a business decision to exempt this data from charges to you. They are totally allowed to do this, and its actually a great promotional move.

    Put down the pitchforks and pick up the pokeballs, you gotta catch 'em all...