Three's 'Go Binge' service has a sting in the tail. On the face of it, Three is offering unlimited data for customers to watch streaming services. Who could possibly complain? But the notion of zero-rated, unlimited data, is potentially bad news for users and market competition.
The introduction of zero-rated streaming means you can use streaming services without gobbling up any of your monthly allowance, leaving an unlimited allowance to watch Netflix, SoundCloud, Deezer and TVPlayer on mobile devices.
This may sound like a great deal for mobile customers, but it poses a threat to net neutrality, allowing companies to effectively buy out portions of people's data plans. In essence – to pay for your attention with sponsored data, a direct but discreet form of advertising.
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Once companies start discriminating between which businesses they endorse in this way, mobile services and the internet could move under the control of monopolies. Smaller companies may struggle to survive and the quality of services provided could be degraded for those not on zero-rated plans. Restrictions to protect the open internet are largely in effect for wired internet services as opposed to mobile networks – leaving a loophole for financial influence.
In the UK, net neutrality is protected by EU law, which is enforced by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). While zero-rated deals are not prohibited, they are assessed on a case by case basis to ensure market fairness – at least in theory.
Previously, these have only been granted to smaller companies that don't have a great share of the market – such as FreedomPop's access to zero-rated WhatsApp deals in the UK in September 2016. Three's latest deal represents the growing trend of larger companies crossing over into the territory of data monopolies.
When Virgin Mobile acquired 4G services on zero-rated deals for WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger in November 2016, it expanded on its existing market share of mobile users – an already considerable three million mobile subscribers in the UK. While consumers were able to chat via internet services without eating into their data allowance, this caused an upheaval in market competition.
In the United States, the threat to net neutrality has already been exemplified by the likes of Sprint and AT&T securing zero-rated deals. AT&T has been charging content providers for the right to serve data since 2014, in plans that don't count towards customers' monthly data limits.
In the UK, mobile companies are following suit. Three's 'Go Binge' deal may propose maximum data usage for streaming, feeding your Netflix binge, but the repercussions stretch beyond your phone screen. Three's zero-rated data plans will only be available to those currently on the service with 4GB of data allowance per month or more, or those on the Advanced plan. This holds true for both contracts or SIM-only deals, as well as being dependent on current subscriptions to data plans.
If data is paid for by content providers, than large companies can control what media you are inclined to access – limiting content options from other providers. Moreover, it leaves consumers disinclined to seek out better deals elsewhere. They may be sold as unlimited, but mobile data plans are becoming increasingly restricted.
Updated 06.07.17, 13:57: This article incorrectly stated that Three's Go Binge package includes Amazon Video. This error has been removed.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
