AT&T lets customers stream AT&T-owned DirecTV with zero data cost

AT&T lets customers stream AT&T-owned DirecTV with zero data cost ,

Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vulture Festival

AT&T is getting into the messy business of zero-rating, offering wireless data subscribers the opportunity to stream video from the DirecTV mobile app with no data costs at all. According to update notes from the latest version of the app released today, users can "stream DirecTV on your devices, anywhere — without using your data."

This promise was tested by Verge staff this morning, who were able to play DirecTV content on their mobile without any noticeable impact to their data allowance. However, the release notes for the app warn that there are restrictions. Under some unspecified circumstances users may still "incur data charges," says DirecTV, and any free video streaming is subject to "network management, including speed reduction."

Hopefully, we’ll hear more about this news this morning, with AT&T CEO Glenn Lurie scheduled to give a speech at the telecoms expo CTIA. The news is interesting considering that AT&T, along with T-Mobile and Comcast, are already being questioned by the FCC over whether or not their free mobile data infringes on net neutrality rules. This is particularly relevant for today’s news as DirecTV is owned by AT&T.