Being a AT&T wireless customer, a consumer was able to stream HBO Max without having to count towards the customer’s data cap. That is no longer the case.
California’s new Net Neutrality Act includes a ban on sponsored data services, known as zero-rating, which previously allowed companies such as AT&T to provide data from certain platforms (such as HBO Max) to customers using other inings like Internet plans. Allowed access to cover. As part of the law, Internet service providers, such as AT&T, will no longer be able to prioritize payment for bundled customers’ streaming data usage or down service speed issues.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to consumers by California’s new ‘net neutrality’ law,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Given that the Internet does not recognize state boundaries, the new law terminates our ability to provide such free data services to California customers, but in the same way affects our customers in states beyond California.”
While Some representatives (And Edge) See this as a complete win, telecom giants like AT&T seem different. The companies tried to get an initial order in late February that would stop the bill from passing, but Judge John Mendez denied the request. AT&T today called the “state-by-state approach” “inappropriate” for net neutrality in a blog post.
The blog post reads, “We provide our customers with the content and services they want because they demand it, it’s not mandatory by regulation,”
For AT&T in particular, promising that HBO Max customers who are also AT&T wireless customers can share the flow without having to worry about hitting their data caps is a big deal. AT&T bought Time Warner in 2018 for 85 billion. The goal was to start what became HBO Max and integrate vert with its other businesses. AT&T Wireless customers will be able to sign up for HBO Max without having to worry about data caps and it can be a selling point for all customers who want to switch to Internet service providers and want to stream all streams. Friends In the world.
As AT&T seeks to increase the customer base of HBO Max, the company is looking to bring more people into the stream and no longer have an opportunity. With cheaper, ad-supported tires coming in June, a little extra “offer fur” could guarantee the company customers to sign up and potential people to spend more time watching HBO Max instead of Netflix. Although such corporate environments do not enable corporate influence, Barbara Van Shechik, a law professor at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, celebrated in a blog post today.
“People should be free to choose what they want to see in their videos – whether it’s Netflix, Twitch or their local church’s Sunday service, the company they pay to try to influence their choices online,” Van Shechek wrote. , AT&T “is trying to raise political issues against the protection of the state’s net neutrality by lying to the public about the law and its impact.”
For AT&T customers, this means that HBO Max streaming will start counting towards your data cap. But it also means that it is a little harder for AT&T to influence customers to use more of their products.
