AT&T will now let you watch DIRECTV on your device without incurring data charges

When you think about being able to stream live TV on your smartphone, the first questions that come to mind are: How much data is it going to use and how much is it going to cost me? Unless you are a T-Mobile customer, the answer is that it doesn’t matter and now AT&T is offering the same option for DIRECTV subscribers.

Even better, you can stream video via your DIRECTV or U-verse App without using your mobile data when you’re on the go with Data Free TV on the AT&T mobile wireless network. It’s easy and automatic after registering and it doesn’t count against your AT&T mobile data allotment.

The second largest carrier in the US has announced an update to its U-Verse application that will allow users to stream all the live TV they want, without incurring any extra data fees. There are a few steps that you’ll need to take before being able to take advantage of this:

1. A DIRECTV subscription (SELECT® or above)
2. The DIRECTV App (available on iOS today and Android soon)
3. Genie HD DVR 44 and above with a home internet connection
4. The understanding that once you start streaming on your mobile device, you’re going to have little excuse to stay home

Once everything is set up and your app has been updated, you’ll be ready to stream as much live TV as you want, without worrying about hitting your monthly data limit. The update for the DIRECTV application is available now for iOS users and will be coming to Android users “soon”.

There is one rather large worry in regards to this new feature, however, and it’s one that T-Mobile currently faces as well. In order for other services to take advantage of providing this to consumers, the company must pay the carriers before being able to bypass the data cap limits.

This is an issue that the FCC has been reviewing since December of 2015, but has yet to make any decision regarding without it violates the net neutrality rules. Technically, DIRECTV is reportedly paying AT&T for the ability to provide this, but since AT&T owns the former it’s not the same as if Netflix or YouTube were paying for the rights to bypass data caps.

Net neutrality is a tricky thing and one that we will continue to see updates on in the future. But for now, you can enjoy all your favorite channels on the go from DIRECTV and AT&T, which is perfect since the NFL season getting started this Thursday.

Download on Google Play: DIRECTV

[ArsTechnica | AT&T]