MetroPCS LTE Plans Charge More For Skype and Streaming

MetroPCS’s discounted 4G LTE mobile broadband plans were not just the beginning of a possible price war. It represented a long-talked about tactic of wireless Internet service providers charging for content at different rates and potentially favoring their own services while charging more for access to rivals.

The new LTE plans raise the specter of consumers paying more for certain kinds of content and the potential for a fractured Internet experience, where users may not be free to jump easily from one site to another. And it appears poised to test the latest net neutrality rules enacted by the Federal Communications Commission, which created fewer protections for discrimination of mobile content. Free Press, a media advocacy group, has now called upon the FCC to investigate MetroPCS’s new pricing tiers. MetroPCS spokesperson Drew Crowell said the carrier is not prepared to discuss the Free Press statement or net neutrality implications of its latest service plans.