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Verizon Wireless, like AT&T before it, is now charging online content providers a fee to get their services exempted from customers' data caps.

With Verizon's "FreeBee Data 360," content providers are billed for each gigabyte they serve to consumers, while the consumers can access the providers' services without using up their data allotments.

"Content providers can sponsor specific consumer actions on a per-click basis, free of data charges for subscribers—including mobile video clips, audio streaming, and app downloads," Verizon said today. Data used for advertisements can also be sponsored by the company delivering the ad.

AT&T has been selling sponsored data under a similar scheme since January 2014. T-Mobile USA has been exempting certain video and music services from its caps, but it isn't charging content providers for the exemptions.