AT&T’s Sponsored Data plan isn’t the end of network neutrality but it is a new model for wireless

[Commentary] AT&T’s sponsored data announcement will generate outrage in many circles as net neutrality fans and those worried about the next generation of startups cry foul over AT&T’s plans to let companies pay to let certain content bypass AT&T’s data caps. But depending on what AT&T charges and how competitive you think the wireless market is, I can’t work myself into a froth just yet.

Instead, based on the implementation, I see an evolution of the internet on the mobile side that makes sense given the limitations of spectrum and the demand for mobile content. As people gave up their unlimited data plans a few years back (because carriers would have made their lives miserable otherwise), the wireless operators now have the perfect stick to beat both the end consumer and the content companies into participating in a double-sided market. One where the consumer and the content provider both pay AT&T. While there are plenty of valid arguments about whether data caps are the right way to solve for worries about network congestion, in the mobile world they have become the de facto standard at the big operators. And even plans that offer unlimited data reserve the right to slow your speeds or throttle your usage in times of congestion. So if you accept data caps as a reasonable way for wireless carriers to manage their networks, then letting companies pay to let certain content or apps bypass those caps seems like a valid innovation in the carrier business model as opposed to a subtle violation of network neutrality.