AT&T to let content providers pick up bandwidth tab with new 'sponsored data' service

AppleInsider

Customers on AT&T's 4G network will soon be able to take advantage of a new program that shifts the burden of paying for some mobile data usage from users to content providers.

Ma Bell's new Sponsored Data service is designed to allow companies that distribute content to mobile devices to subsidize the cost of mobile data usage associated with that content, letting customers browse the web or watch videos without depleting their monthly data allotment.

AT&T envisions companies sponsoring new app downloads, movie trailer streams, video-based healthcare programs, and e-commerce sessions as well as more utilitarian applications like bifurcation of business and personal data usage for businesses implementing bring-your-own-device policies. The Dallas, TX company says the product is designed to be transparent for users, who simply need to look out for content marked with a Sponsored Data badge.

The program is "a win-win for customers and businesses --?customers just look for the Sponsored Data icon and they know the data related to that particular application or video is provided as a part of their monthly service," AT&T Mobility chief Ralph de la Vega said.

In an apparent nod to those concerned with the ongoing net neutrality debate, AT&T promises that there will be no difference in network performance between sponsored and unsponsored data. The company has been embroiled in controversy for its approach to equal network access regulations, including a spat over its decision to block Apple's FaceTime service from operating over the cellular network, a choice the carrier later reversed.

All postpaid AT&T customers with 4G LTE or HSPA+ smartphones, tablets, mobile hotspots, or laptop modems will be eligible to join the Sponsored Data program at launch. DataConnect Pass session-based customers are also included, though other prepaid plans will not be granted access.

christopher126

Hmmm. Seems like a good idea. Trying to think how ATT can screw this up.

applesauce007

Awesome, Apple should sponsor map data for iOS devices.

christopher126

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 



Awesome, Apple should sponsor map data for iOS devices.

Or Kanye can pay us to listen to his "music!"

fulldecent

Do not want

repentantfan

christopher126 wrote: »

Hmmm. Trying to think how ATT can screw this up.

Oh, easily. They are attempting to push their costs to the content providers. If the content providers fall for it by "sponsoring", the content providers will have to up the price of their service. The company does not care if the end user pays more, just that they are not perceived as the one increasing the cost. Plus, it's a double-dip: customers and the content providers.

dooky

So now we trust our data, personal interests, username, etc. to advertisers, game, and app developers? Didn't Snowden teach us anything?

muppetry

So they are trying to wring additional money out of the the content providers, presumably with the incentive that non-participating providers will see less traffic, while not lowering the customers' costs (unless this becomes so ubiquitous that customers can choose lower data plans, which seems unlikely). Nice.

suddenly newton

Decentralize the Internet.

muppetry

Quote:

Originally Posted by dooky 

 

So now we trust our data, personal interests, username, etc. to advertisers, game, and app developers? Didn't Snowden teach us anything?

 

You may have misunderstood the concept here.

spamsandwich

Unless I'm misunderstanding the story here, this sounds like nothing but good news. Why not enable certain apps or services to "pay" for the cost to download or stream something? They could make their money back with sponsorships also.

inkling

One of the best uses for this will be for companies to offer their employees, customers, and clients free data and business-to-business access. If you're an electrician, you can locate what you need with a smartphone app, order it, and have it ready and waiting for you at will-call when you drop by. Paying the cost of that access means happy customers and more business.

pooch

i can pay or it myself.

or pay more for it via a sponsor who has to not only pay for the bandwidth itself but provide the overhead of figuring out how much the bandwidth costs and how much they're going to charge me for it and how much extra they're going to charge me for it (YAPC: yet another profit center) by increasing the price of whatever.

no thanks.

dasanman69

Interesting move. It's the new 1-800.

daveinpublic

I don't like it off the bat - in the end this could give AT&T less incentive to increase data caps, and over time more and more of the Internet is sponsored AT&T associates.

dasanman69

repentantfan wrote: »

Oh, easily. They are attempting to push their costs to the content providers. If the content providers fall for it by "sponsoring", the content providers will have to up the price of their service. The company does not care if the end user pays more, just that they are not perceived as the one increasing the cost. Plus, it's a double-dip: customers and the content providers.

Again, how is this any different from a 1-800 number? Were you against those as well? Companies aren't being forced to do it, and any company that wants increased traffic in these days of tiered and throttled data would be wise to offer it.

seanie248

what a completely nuts idea. Imagine one scenario, film company A decides to put a 'sponsored data' badge on a film trailer. Abuse by l33t group B sets up a worm to download this trailer as much as possible. ATT bill Film Company A for loads of data usage, they say 'no f'ing way' and on it goes.

now apply variations of this to anywhere else.

would be nice if it could work, but I can't see it.

softeky

This could be very useful to those AT&T customers who notice that, despite having a wireless intranet, their phones use cellular cloud services (of some kind) during some nightly activity. Seems to be a problem that when the phone is asleep and it performs some background synch operation, it defaults back to cell for the duration of the operation. This can be quite significant for AT&T users who are on the minimum data plan if Apple can identify and "sponsor" this activity.

Having said that, I don't trust AT&T. I'm sure they will find some way to migrate this into an anti net-neutrality strategy.

dick applebaum

This is the [I]content[/I] providers [B][I]subsidizing data[/I][/B] usage -- much in the same way that the [I]carriers[/I] subsidize [B][I]phone purchases.[/I][/B]

If this is successful (and I think it will be) -- I think that there are several upsides:
[LIST]
[*] the user has access to more content
[*] the user choses the content he consumes (and when and where)
[*] content providers can better target, plan, budget and manage delivery costs
[*] carriers can better target, plan, budget and manage network costs
[*] carriers' expansion of network coverage and speed will be pay-as-you-go rather than front-loaded risk with delayed ROI
[/LIST]

I can envision advantages to the consumer:  more content available in more places at less cost.

For example, wouldn't it be nice to be able to stream, say, the NFL Playoffs to your iPad, while stuck in the waiting room at a hospital (or waiting for the snowplows at Donner Pass)?

anantksundaram

Quote:

Originally Posted by dasanman69 



Interesting move. It's the new 1-800.

I don't normally agree with you, but on this one, you're totally right.

robertsm

Great. I know that ESPN was in favor of this. Soon you can watch a game outside of wifi and not have to incur the data