Verizon to test 'toll-free' sponsored data that doesn’t count against caps

Verizon will soon begin testing sponsored data plans, in which Internet companies pay to keep their traffic from counting against users’ data caps.

The tests will begin in the next few days, followed by a larger commercial rollout in the first quarter of next year, Recode reports. It’s unclear which companies will take part in these plans, which Verizon likens to toll-free calling.

Verizon won’t be the first carrier to test this kind of scheme. In January 2014, AT&T announced its own “Sponsored Data” plan, which also lets companies pay to steer clear of data caps. Nearly two years later, that program is still in a limited trial, and not a single major streaming service is participating.

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