The difference here is that unlike 1800 calls the amounts charged by phone companies for extra data over the plan is extortionate vs. what I imagine Facebook etc. Are charged and it's not easy for John Smith as a small biz owner to get in on this action whereas getting a toll free number is feasible. So it's pushing people into the big walled gardens.
> “We welcome any video provider that wishes to sponsor its content in the same ‘data free’ way for AT&T Mobility customers and we’ll do so on equal terms at our lowest wholesale rates,” Bob Quinn, senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs at AT&T, said in the company’s Nov. 10 response to the FCC’s letter.
But it's hard to know how seriously to take that. At face value it suggests that they're willing to sell "data sponsorship" in much the same way phone companies sell 1-800 numbers. The reality may be different of course.
