“If you have AT&T’s gigabit Internet service and wonder why it seems so affordable, here’s the reason—AT&T is boosting profits by rerouting all your Web browsing to an in-house traffic scanning platform, analyzing your Internet habits, then using the results to deliver personalized ads to the websites you visit, e-mail to your inbox, and junk mail to your front door,” Jon Brodkin reports for Ars Technica.
“In a few select areas including Austin, Texas, and Kansas City, Missouri — places where AT&T competes against the $70-per-month Google Fiber — a Bell offers its own $70-per-month ‘GigaPower’ fiber-to-the-home Internet access,” Brodkin reports. “But signing up for the deal also opts customers in to AT&T’s ‘Internet Preferences’ program, which gives the company permission to examine each customer’s Web traffic in exchange for a price that matches Google’s.”
“AT&T charges at least another $29 a month ($99 total) to provide standalone Internet service that doesn’t perform this extra scanning of your Web traffic,” Brodkin reports. “The privacy fee can balloon to more than $60 for bundles including TV or phone service. Certain modem rental and installation fees also apply only to service plans without Internet Preferences.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: For everything, there is a price.