Google’s YouTube is the biggest mobile video holdout from Binge On. One notable holdout from the program is YouTube, and in December a spokesperson said that T-Mobile is throttling all video services without explicit user consent. It’s not just advocacy groups that are taking a stand against Binge On. MORE: Verizon’s Sponsored Data Shouldn’t Hurt Net Neutrality “In other words, our results show that T-Mobile is throttling video streams, plain and simple,” the report said. Last week EFF published a report that found that T-Mobile throttles all video, capping all video streams at 1.5Mbps, even if users’ wireless connection can support a more robust stream. After that, let us make our own mistakes and learn from them.But even video services that have chosen not to work with T-Mobile are downgraded to standard definition, says the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit privacy group. Is it just me, or is it not cool of everyone in this wireless industry to try and protect us from ourselves? Warnings and pop-ups and emails and all that are all we need to know about these types of issues. By May, an update should arrive on the Netflix app with a “data saver” option that will allow customers to raise or lower the quality of streams when on mobile. Verizon on the other hand, just said that they deliver whatever content providers are providing.Īlongside this acknowledgement from Netflix, the streaming company says that it will soon give customers more control over the quality of stream they see. An AT&T executive said that they are “outraged” to learn that Netflix has been throttling content without letting customers know. They have not been throttling streams at Sprint and T-Mobile because “historically those two companies have had more consumer-friendly policies.” The thought was that Netflix users may have limited data plans and 360p streams could help them extend the use of those data plans or at the very least, not blow through those buckets too quickly.ĪT&T is actually pissed about it and probably should be. In fact, Netflix says that it has been throttling video playback through numerous carriers for five years as a way to protect customers from themselves. Last night, Netflix told the Wall Street Journal that it has been throttling its content through both Verizon and AT&T without their knowledge. What was he referring to? We think we now know. Legere was quick to point out that he never said they were throttling, only that the content was coming across their network in 360p. The news was somewhat shocking, because no one had heard this before and either assumed Legere was talking out of his ass or knew something no one else knew. As it turns out, he may have had the inside track to information that even Verizon and AT&T weren’t aware of.Īfter that video showed, Verizon’s PR crew took to Twitter to attack Legere over the claims, saying that they weren’t throttling Netflix. During that clip, he made reference to Netflix streaming on T-Mobile that was dropped to DVD-like quality with BingeOn enabled, but noted that the 480p resolution was better than what you would see at AT&T and Verizon, who were only “delivering” content for Netflix at 360p (clip here). Last week, as a part of YouTube and T-Mobile’s joint announcement that YouTube was joining Binge On, T-Mobile CEO John Legere released a video to help sell the news.
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