AT&T announced a plan to charge content providers for the right to offer video and other media without depleting customers’data limits. Consumer advocates say that the plan violates the principles of network neutrality, but AT&T thinks the plan does not violate FCC net neutrality rules since it applies mainly to wired internet service not cellular service. (Ars Technica, January 6, 2014, by Jon Brodkin)
The American Civil Liberties Union argues that the plan allows AT&T the power to control internet traffic. “…[the plan’s] a market distortion by an oligopolistic, utility-like company that will shift power toward already successful companies and stifle potential competitors. And it allows AT&T to enable some speakers to communicate better than other speakers,” writes Jan Stanley, ACLU, January 7, 2014)
“‘If AT&T and Verizon get their way, the days of the open Internet are numbered. Allowing a few deep-pocketed partners to pay for preferred treatment will stifle innovation, hinder competition, raise prices over time and give mobile phone companies the power to pick and choose the content you can access,'” says Matt Wood of Free Press, January 7, 2014.