本周AT&T宣布将对DirecTV的新流媒体服务给予特殊待遇，将其排除在AT&T客户的无线数据上限之外。自从我们开始写关于网络中立性的文章以来，我们一直认为零评级是一个不好的、反竞争的想法，从长远来看，它会伤害消费者，尽管在短期内它可能看起来像是一个巨大的消费者利益。现在我们知道，联邦通信委员会似乎同意了，根据它今天发给Verizon和AT&T的信，关于他们的零评级和赞助数据项目。

你可以在这里读到更多关于这些信件的内容，但我想重点介绍一下FCC给AT&amp；这确实突出了零评级和赞助数据是如何被用来共同打击竞争对手的。

Using the reference example from your white paper stating that your Sp***ored Data rates are similar to the discounted wholesale rates paid by major wireless resellers, we estimate for purposes of illustrating our concerns that an unaffiliated mobile video service provider would have to pay AT&T $16 a month to offer zero-rated service to a customer who uses just 10 minutes of LTE video per day, increasing to $47 for a customer using 30 minutes per day. These costs alone would represent 46 percent to 134 percent of DIRECTV Now's $35 retail price, against which third parties will be competing for AT&T Mobility customers, and would be borne in addition to all other costs of providing service by the unaffiliated provider. As c***umers increasingly use mobile video services - a process which the practice of zero-rating mobile video usage will accelerate - these Sp***ored Data charges could reasonably be expected to increase even more. By contrast, AT&T incurs no comparable cost to offer its own DIRECTV Now service on a zero-rated basis. If we understand these facts correctly, AT&T seems to present the unaffiliated provider with a choice that is unreasonable on its face: either pay a Sp***ored Data rate (resulting in a $16-$47 per month - or higher - incremental cash cost not incurred by AT&T) that would make it very difficult, if not infeasible, to offer a competitively-priced service, or instead require its customers to pay significant amounts for their own usage of data while AT&T's zero-rated DIRECTV Now service offers customers the same usage for free.

联邦通信委员会在脚注中解释说，这是一个相对保守的估计。有充分的理由相信互联网服务提供商会收取尽可能多的费用。只要看看Netflix与康卡斯特的吵闹战争，然后想象一下未来，每个不属于ISP的内容公司都必须像这样单独谈判。那太疯狂了。

这也会损害消费者的利益，因为他们已经为访问他们要求ISP检索的内容付费了。赞助数据不过是将互联网划分成额外收费区域的一种尝试。

没有理由认为这种安排会以AT&T和DirecTV收场。AT&T目前正在收购时代华纳，并可能与HBO做同样的事情。如果说我们在过去半个世纪看到的媒体业有一个可靠且有据可查的趋势，那就是大规模的整合——在美国，只有六家公司拥有约90%的媒体业务：新闻集团、迪士尼、维亚康姆、哥伦比亚广播公司、时代华纳和康卡斯特。如果在&amp；T收购时代华纳（Time Warner）名单上的两家公司将代表拥有传输层和传输层上的内容的大型企业集团，这给了它们强大的竞争对手很大的力量(再次：见康卡斯特vs.网飞。）

如果零评级和赞助数据的双重打击能说明互联网服务提供商在放松管制的互联网环境中的表现，那么没有理由相信扼杀网络中立性会增加市场竞争。对网络拥有垄断权的垂直整合ISP也将获得对世界信息的编辑权。

互联网是一件伟大的事情。如果我们让AT&T和Verizon将其分割开来，那将是一个耻辱，因为他们想像旧的有线电视垄断企业一样强大。