By Thomas Gryta
The Federal Communications Commission's new net-neutrality rules
are already having an effect.
Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, had been
intermittently choking off data speeds for its heaviest wireless
Internet users when its network was clogged. But it stopped on
Friday, when the government's new net-neutrality rules went into
effect.
The rules, unlike prior attempts by the commission to ensure
Internet traffic isn't blocked or slowed, cover wireless networks
like Sprint's for the first time. That raises the stakes for
carriers, whose past policies could in theory run afoul of newly
vigilant regulators.
Sprint said it believes its policy would have been allowed under
the rules, but dropped it just in case.
"Sprint doesn't expect users to notice any significant
difference in their services now that we no longer engage in the
process," a Sprint spokesman said.
The company also had reserved the right to prioritize data
traffic depending on a subscriber's plan. It had never done so, but
has now decided the policy isn't needed.
Sprint's changes came days before the FCC said Wednesday that it
plans to fine AT&T Inc. $100 million for allegedly misleading
customers about unlimited wireless data plans. The FCC alleges
AT&T sold consumers data plans advertised as unlimited, then
capped data speeds after they used 5 gigabytes of data in a billing
period.
The carrier says it did nothing wrong and will vigorously
dispute the allegations.
AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. stopped offering
unlimited plans to new subscribers years ago, but T-Mobile and
Sprint still sell them. T-Mobile doesn't have a policy of
throttling customers other than in extreme circumstances for
network management, a spokeswoman said.
Verizon moved to throttle some unlimited users last year as
well, but dropped the effort under pressure from the FCC.
Write to Thomas Gryta at thomas.gryta@wsj.com
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