If you like conserving data, Verizon would like a word.
The wireless carrier on Tuesday launched a new sponsored data service, dubbed FreeBee Data, which will let wireless customers use certain apps and mobile websites without eating into their monthly data allotment while the app maker or service provider picks up the tab. As part of this new offering, companies can sponsor up to 30 seconds of mobile video streaming, 30 minutes of mobile audio streaming, app downloads, or an entire mobile website or app.
If you're a Verizon Wireless customer, just look for the FreeBee Data icon (a little white bee inside a black circle), which will appear next to sponsored content. This icon lets you know that if you click on the content, you won't incur any data charges.
FreeBee is now open to all content providers, who can pay on a per-gigabyte or per-click basis. Early partners include Hearst Magazines, AOL, and Gameday, which will be testing a pay-per-click option for 1,000 subscribers. Advertisers that want to sign up can click here for more information.
"With 1 in 3 Americans now watching videos on their smartphone, and another 100 million on tablets, the business case for mobile is clear," Colson Hillier, vice president of consumer products at Verizon, said in a statement. "In today's digital economy, FreeBee Data is a departure from the one size fits all approach to marketing. The opportunity to add value and utility to consumers' everyday experiences will fundamentally transform how brands and businesses connect with their customers."
Rumors of a Verizon sponsored data service first popped up last month. As we noted then, the move may not sit well with advocates of net neutrality, the notion that all data should be considered the same and not prioritized in any way.
Rival AT&T announced its own Sponsored Data solution at CES 2014. A year later, the effort was "still in the nascent stages," mobile chief Ralph de la Vega said at MWC.
T-Mobile, meanwhile, exempts customers from data charges for music- and video-streaming services like Spotify and Netflix, but those companies do not have to foot the bill.