T-Mobile, AT&T are probed by the FCC over data cap exemptions
It looks like U.S. carriers T-Mobile and AT&T could be in a spot of bother. Because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is, according to a recent report, asking for explanations as to why the carriers, along with Comcast, are allowing some of their services to remain exempt from data caps.
Looking for answers
The news comes from The Hill (via AppleInsider), and explains that the FCC wants to “have all the facts” concerning the move by T-Mobile, AT&T, and Comcast. You see, each of the providers offers services to customers which don’t count towards users’ consumption of data. These include, for T-Mobile, its Music Freedom service, which sees certain music excluded from pre-issued caps, AppleInsider explains.
Comcast’s Stream TV offers a proprietary mix of live and on-demand content, while AT&T is simply marketing “sponsored data,” allowing any outside party to pay for customers’ data consumption.
It’s an interesting situation, however the FCC is concerned that the moves by each network violate net neutrality. As such, the FCC has issued letters to T-Mobile, AT&T, and Comcast, asking for additional information on the matter.
T-Mobile Music Freedom.
So far, no decision from the FCC is going to be made; each company must simply supply a letter outlining all the facts for the FCC to evaluate. Each company, too, is firmly denying that net neutrality has been violated by their respective moves. Only time will tell if the FCC disagrees with the networks’ mutual stance.
There is a deadline, however: Jan. 15, 2016, for each of the companies. As such, we don’t have long to wait until a decision concerning T-Mobile, AT&T, and Comcast is able to be made.
