Thanks to California’s newly-passed net neutrality laws, AT&T will no longer allow its customers to stream HBO Max without it counting towards their data cap. That means if you have an internet data plan with AT&T, you’re about to lose one of the biggest benefits.
Even if you live in a different state, the change will still affect you. In a blog post, AT&T said the change would be coming to subscribers both inside and outside of California because “the internet does not recognize state borders.”
So, if you’re streaming HBO Max on AT&T, be aware that your data will start going down from now. You may want to take this opportunity to find a different internet provider, or a new favorite streaming service, especially if this was the main reason you subscribed to either.
Who will this change benefit?
From its post, AT&T doesn’t seem to be a fan of the latest change, and it looks like everybody loses in this situation. AT&T and HBO Max lose strategic partnerships that benefited them, and customers of both end up with worse services than they previously had. So who is benefiting?
Well, other internet providers and streaming services. AT&T wasn’t directly hurting other services but was giving the platform it owns — AT&T is the parent company of HBO Max — a leg up over rivals like Hulu and Amazon Prime. HBO Max customers could have equally felt obliged to get internet from AT&T for the best deal.
Now customers won’t feel trapped by any service and are guaranteed an equal level of quality from whatever streaming site they want to visit, be it Netflix, Twitch, or HBO Max.
Via The Verge
