An advantage of being an AT&T wireless subscriber was being able to transmit HBO Max without counting towards the customer’s data limit. This is no longer the case.
California’s new network neutrality law includes a ban on sponsored data services, known as zero-rating, which previously allowed companies like AT&T to cover the use of data from certain platforms (such as HBO Max) for customers using other offers, such as internet plans. As part of the law, Internet service providers such as AT&T will not be able to cover the use of bundled customer data streaming, and will no longer be able to offer paid prioritization or minimize service speed issues.
“We regret the inconvenience to customers caused by California’s new ‘net neutrality’ law,” the company wrote in a blog. “Since the Internet does not recognize state boundaries, the new law not only undermines our ability to provide California customers with such free data services, but also affects our customers in states other than California.
While some representatives (and The Verge) see this as an absolute victory, telecommunications giants like AT&T think differently. The companies tried to invoke a preliminary injunction in late February that would prevent approval of the project, but Judge John Mendez refused the request. AT&T called a state-to-state approach to net neutrality “impractical” in the blog post today.
“We provide the content and services that our customers want because it is what they require, not because it is mandatory by regulation,” says the blog post.
For AT&T specifically, promising that HBO Max subscribers who are also AT&T wireless customers could stream without worrying about reaching the data limit is big business. AT&T bought Time Warner in 2018 for $ 85 billion. The goal has always been to launch what HBO Max has become and to integrate it vertically with its other businesses. AT&T wireless customers can sign up for HBO Max and transmit without worrying about data limits, which can be a selling point for some customers who want to switch Internet service providers and want to broadcast all Friends in the world.
While AT&T tries to expand HBO Max’s subscriber base, the company is looking for any opportunity to get more people to stream and for longer periods. With a cheaper, ad-based tier coming up in June, any little extra “offers” can help the company sign up customers and potentially convince people to spend more time watching HBO Max instead of Netflix. Not allowing this kind of corporate influence, however, is something that Barbara van Schewick, a law professor at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society, celebrated in a post today.
“People should be free to choose which videos they want to watch – whether it’s Netflix, Twitch or their local church Sunday service, without the company they pay to go online trying to influence their choices,” wrote van Schewick, adding that AT&T is ” trying to score political points against state net neutrality protections, lying to the public about the law and its effects. ”
For AT&T customers, this means that HBO Max streaming will begin to count towards your data limit. But it also means that it is a little more difficult for AT&T to influence customers to use more of its products.