The nation's third-largest wireless carrier, looking to gain competitive
advantage over rivals Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, is giving customers the
ability to stream videos on their smartphones and tablets without generating
data charges. Subscribers can choose among popular streaming services including
Netflix, HBO Now, HBO Go, Watch ESPN, Fox Sports and Hulu.
Notable omissions from the list include YouTube, the world's biggest
video site, and Facebook and Snapchat, which have both made big pushes into
video in the last year.
"Video streams free," T-Mobile CEO John Legere said Tuesday.
"Binge on. Start watching your shows, stop watching your data."
Legere's offer applies to customers who pay for at least 3 GB of data a month.
The promotion is certain to generate complaints from critics who think
it violates net neutrality principles, and implicitly favors video services
that have agreements with T-Mobile. But Legere brushed aside net neutrality
concerns, arguing that his carrier will treat all video services equally when
it comes to delivering their data.
"I make it very clear that we fundamentally believe in a free and
open Internet," Legere said onstage, in response to a question from
Re/code. "We know the principles — you don't slow down or throttle
[content.] We abide by all of that … I think it's the fundamental underpinning
of what people who think about net neutrality are concerned about."
Legere said that video providers didn't pay T-Mobile to participate in
the promotion. Asked whether the carrier would extend the promotion to video
providers who wanted to stream pornography, he said "of course."
A T-Mobile executive said the only requirement the company needed from
video providers was a technical one — it needs a digital "signature"
that will let T-Mobile identify their content.
Video is growing ever more important to mobile users — particularly
younger consumers ages 18 to 29, three-quarters of whom told Pew they watch
video from their smartphones. Legere said 57 percent of millennials watch video
on a mobile device — "they don't even watch TV," he said.
Dawn
Chmielewski
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