AT&T came under fire shortly after it unveiled its new Sponsored Data program. Despite the negative press however, the company is sticking by its new program. Moreover, AT&T has also expressed that its new program will pass the upcoming FCC probe.
Amidst a recent FCC keynote address from Tom Wheeler, FCC's incumbent chairman, AT&T is reiterating that its new Sponsored Data program has been designed to benefit the company's customers. However, many experts are worried that the new program can very well turn the concept of a neutral Internet topsy-turvy. Data caps on telecom accounts have been around for a while now and many carriers are of the opinion that these caps are necessary for the good of everyone using the Internet. However, AT&T's new program provides a loophole around the data caps, provided someone pays it extra for it.
FCC's Tom Wheeler has also said that his agency will conduct a thorough investigation on the matter. The investigation will look at a number of key points such as the effect of the program on the Internet at large and it will determine whether the new program is anti-competition or not.
For the average joe, understanding AT&Ts Sponsored Data program may be a bit confusing and it can be hard to relate the effects of the program on everyday Internet usage. In a nutshell, AT&T's new pet program means that consuming content that is sponsored by a company will not count against the data cap for consumer plans. This means that if a user is viewing a video that has been paid for by a sponsor company, the data consumption of the video will not be held against the user's data plan.
While it sounds harmless enough, the problem is that companies who can afford to pay AT&T for its Sponsored Data program may have a definitive advantage over companies who have smaller budgets. In other words, users may be inclined to consume sponsored content over other types of content to keep their data consumption within their respective data caps.
