FCC dep’t engaging in ‘wild goose chase’ over zero-rating: commissioner

A branch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is engaging in a “wild goose chase” by investigating a pair of companies’ zero-rating offers, according to one commissioner. In a statement posted to the American regulator’s website Friday, commissioner Mike O’Rielly called for the FCC chairman to “halt this wild goose chase at once,” citing direction from U.S. Congress to “avoid directing attention and resources to complex or controversial matters.” O’Rielly said the FCC’s wireless telecommunications bureau is “inappropriately pressing forward and escalating its investigation of certain providers’ zero-rated video services,” and that it would be “difficult to come up with a better example of a complex, controversial policy at the current Commission than this attempt to intimidate providers in order to shut down popular offerings to consumers.” On Thursday, the bureau sent letters to AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. asking them to explain how their zero-rated programs aren’t contradicting net neutrality rules, coming to a preliminary conclusion that the pricing practices “harm consumers.” While the letter to Verizon indicated the start of the process, bureau chief Jon Wilkins’ correspondence to AT&T was following up on earlier communication in which he outlined issues with the “Data Free TV” feature of AT&T’s DirecTV app, which allows wireless customers who subscribe to the satellite TV service to stream content on mobile devices on a zero-rated basis. In Thursday’s letter, Wilkins said AT&T’s response failed “to alleviate the serious concerns expressed” in the previous correspondence about “potential anti-competitive impacts of AT&T’s wholesale Sponsored Data program for zero-rated mobile video services.” Wilkins added: “We have therefore reached the preliminary conclusion that these practices inhibit competition, harm consumers, and interfere with the ‘virtuous cycle’ needed to assure the continuing benefits of the Open Internet.” In his letter to Verizon, Wilkins said the company’s sponsored data service, FreeBee Data 360, “has the potential to hinder competition and harm consumers.” The bureau isn’t concerned with zero-rating “per se,” the letter said, citing the FCC’s Open Internet Order that said some programs might “increase choice and lower cost for consumers.” But even though the participation of Verizon's Go90’s streaming service in the program is seen as being on equal footing with non-Verizon programs, “it fails to take account of the notably different financial impact on unaffiliated edge providers,” since “there is no cash cost on a consolidated basis for Verizon to zero-rate its own affiliated edge service.” Providers that don’t choose to buy into Verizon’s program would also “face a significant competitive disadvantage in trying to serve Verizon’s customer base without zero-rating,” Wilkins wrote.

FCC dep’t engaging in ‘wild goose chase’ over zero-rating: commissioner

Brief | December 5, 2016

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FCC dep’t engaging in ‘wild goose chase’ over zero-rating: commissioner

Brief | December 5, 2016

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