ESPN Prepares for 1-800 Mobile Data Service with US MNO

   

I've already covered some use cases of "1-800" data services (Facebook, Wikipedia) - but this time it seems to be on a much larger scale, that might cause the FCC to look again at the Net Neutrality rules for wireless services.

Phil Goldstein reports to FierceWireless (based on WSJ story) that "Sports media giant ESPN has talked with at least one large U.S. carrier about subsidizing wireless access to its content .. These discussions could potentially lead to a "toll-free" data plan with carriers and open up new revenue streams for both parties .. in one potential scenario, ESPN would pay a carrier to ensure that customers viewing ESPN mobile content wouldn't have that usage counted toward their monthly data caps. Sharing advertising revenue is another potential avenue for carriers and content providers to explore, the report noted"

Related posts:

• [Guest Post, by Dean Bubley]: 1-800 Apps Concept: Superficially Appealing but Unworkable - here
• AT&T CEO: 1-800 Data will 'Catch Fire in the Next 12 Months" - here 
• AT&T Considers "1-800" Model for Mobile Data" - here
• AT&T Asks Subscribers about 1-800 Data Service - here

"The report noted that "one big carrier" told ESPN that significant numbers of its subscribers reach their monthly cap before the end of the month, which causes data usage to drop. For ESPN and other content companies, a toll-free data arrangement would let them bypass usage caps. For carriers, the deals could present a new revenue growth stream as smartphone penetration continues to rise and subscriber growth slows. If ESPN struck a deal with one major carrier, it would likely do so with others, especially those with usage-based data plans".

See "Report: ESPN in talks with U.S. carrier on toll-free data plans" - here.