• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, April 12, 2016

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is hinting that the agency takes a dim view of broadband providers that use data caps to discourage subscribers from watching online video.

Speaking at an industry conference this week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said the agency is currently undertaking "policy reviews" of data caps and their exemptions.

"There is no definite end date or predetermined outcome for this inquiry, but there are principles," he said. "Here’s one obvious principle that has been a consistent underpinning of FCC precedent for decades: An incumbent should not be able to use its position as a gatekeeper to unfairly discriminate against unaffiliated content or services that may, today or tomorrow, pose a competitive threat to the incumbent’s own business."

One way that cable companies can squelch competition from online video distributors is by imposing caps on the amount of data that can be consumed in a month, but exempting their own offerings from those caps.

Comcast is using a version of that practice with Stream -- its new $15-a-month offering for broadband-only subscribers. People who purchase Stream can watch a roster of TV shows, which are delivered over broadband connections. All material accessed through Stream is exempt from Comcast's 300 GB-per-month data caps -- which have been rolled out to 15% of the company's customers.

(Comcast says Stream is a "cable service," and not an Internet offering. But consumer advocates are not impressed with Comcast's arguments on that point.)

Verizon also is exempting data from its own video service, go90.

Consumer advocates have asked the FCC to crack down on zero-rating policies, arguing that data-cap exemptions "enable ISPs to pick winners and losers online or create new tolls for Web sites and applications."

Wheeler didn't mention Comcast or Verizon by name this week, but both companies certainly appear to be favoring their own online video services at the expense of Netflix, Amazon and other companies that distribute video on the Web.

Whether the FCC will act remains to be seen.