Zero rating and its close relative sponsored data have been as divisive as Brexit in the UK because they pit network neutrality against commercial freedom, but now they are winning more of the battles. The tide really turned against net neutrality with Trump’s surprise elevation to the White House, but zero rating had already been gaining ground in Europe where it was more favored by regulators than in the US under President Obama. AT&T had been a cheerleader for sponsored data where third party OTT service providers pay for data consumed by users of services delivered via a partner operator’s cellular network. Under strict zero rating on the other hand the operator effectively pays by discounting data associated with a…