Wireless companies warm to unlimited streaming of some apps

Coming soon to your smartphone: unlimited video streaming of some television shows, without getting stuck with an expensive wireless bill for high data usage. Maybe.

The idea of allowing consumers to subscribe to a content provider such as ESPN so they can watch their favorite shows without being charged for data use has been controversial. But it got new momentum this week when Randall L. Stephenson, AT&T’s chief executive, said he saw such deals in the industry’s future. Stephenson did not mention specific plans to broker deals with content providers. But his forecast that such deals could be feasible sparked protest from consumer advocacy groups. They say carriers have long argued that networks are strained from too much video traffic. But, the groups say, wireless firms appear to welcome more traffic if the content provider pays a higher fee. “Allowing a few deep-pocketed partners to pay for preferred treatment will stifle innovation, hinder competition, raise prices over time and give mobile phone companies the power to pick and choose the content you can access,” said Matt Wood, policy director for the public interest group Free Press. Federal regulators have not opposed the idea, and analysts say President Obama’s nominee to lead the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, probably won’t put up any obstacles. Consumer groups and some Democratic lawmakers may push Wheeler to look into the issue. But current “open access” rules at the FCC are “lenient toward wireless operators,” said Paul Gallant, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities, in a research note. And “while the rules are not black and white, they do not appear to ban such payments by content companies.”