Is T-Mobile's unlimited video streaming actually good for consumers?

T-Mobile's new offer of unlimited video streaming, BingeOn, could be a great deal for Netflix and HBO Go fanatics. It may also set a bad precedent.

The promotion raises the question of whether this sets up wireless service providers as app gatekeepers, which could in the long run inhibit the creation of new services and limit consumer choices. "In the short term, it might be benefiting some consumers," said Matt Wood, policy director at the consumer advocacy group Free Press. "But the fact that they're willing to do this at all calls into question why there's a data cap if T-Mobile can give exemptions to whole categories of applications." It's the control over which applications are exempt from data caps and which are not that troubles Wood and other critics, many of whom question whether the practice also violates the Federal Communication Commission's Net neutrality rules. Wood questioned why T-Mobile is singling out streaming video rather than including other data-intensive services like online video games. In other words, why does T-Mobile need to offer unlimited data for particular applications when it already offers a data plan that provides unlimited access to all applications? (T-Mobile increased the cost of its unlimited data plan by $15 a month on the day it announced Binge On.)

"What is the point of a cap if certain uses are exempt?" Wood said. "We don't see the rationale for a cap if you magically lift it depending on what kind of service you're using."