Three Senators want AT&T to explain why it zero-rated HBO Max
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Not counting the data used to watch HBO Max against an AT&T subscriber’s data cap would seem to benefit that subscriber. But the Senators point out that it can hinder competition instead since it would promote the use of HBO Max over other streaming apps that are not zero-rated; those apps would include streamers like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. In their letter, the three Senators wrote, “This practice of allowing one arm of your company to ‘pay’ another arm of your company for preferential treatment attempts to mask its true impact…The Trump FCC may have gutted critical net neutrality protections, but AT&T nonetheless has a responsibility to avoid any policies or practices that harm consumers and stifle competition.” The Senators have asked Stephenson to respond to their letter and to explain the rationale for zero-rating HBO Max; AT&T has been asked for a response by June 25th.
Under net neutrality, all streaming content was treated the same. For example, a U.S. carrier would not be allowed to receive extra payments from a streaming content provider to zero-rate its service; the concern is that eventually the streamer will stop paying the carrier and force consumers to make the necessary payments required to keep a streaming app zero-rated. And who could forget the situation that Verizon found itself in 2018 when the carrier throttled the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District’s download data speed during a raging wildfire. One essential firefighting vehicle had its download data speed reduced from 50Mbps to 30kbps while battling the blaze.
