T-Mobile accused of downgrading YouTube video quality without consent

T-Mobile is reportedly downgrading the quality of YouTube clips viewed by customers, even though the service isn't a partner in T-Mobile's Binge On program.

"Reducing data charges can be good for users, but it doesn't justify throttling all video services, especially without explicit user consent," a YouTube spokesman remarked to the Wall Street Journal.

Binge On allows some T-Mobile subscribers to watch services like HBO, Netflix, and Sling TV without the data counting towards their monthly cap. With the option on, however, video is also downgraded to 480p (DVD) quality.

The Internet Association — of which Google is a member — claimed that Binge On "appears to involve throttling of all video traffic, across all data plans, regardless of network congestion."

T-Mobile declined to address the video degradation problem, but told the Journal that YouTube's exclusion from Binge On is the result of a technical obstacle. The software used to flag videos as exempt from data caps can't always identify YouTube clips, T-Mobile said, adding that it has talked with YouTube but may need more time to fix the issue.

Binge On and programs like it are under scrutiny by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which is concerned that they may violate net neutrality principles. Services excluded from Binge On could be said to have second-tier status on T-Mobile's network, and thus an inherent disadvantage.

26 Comments

cornchip 11 Years · 1943 comments

About 8 years ago

Legere should be tried at The Hague for this crime against humanity.

pmz 15 Years · 3429 comments

Do people really that much time watching Netflix while on cellular, that this so-called "Binge On" is even needed?
Why are you not on WiFi?
And if you're somewhere that isn't near WiFi, aren't you already doing something more interesting than watching ****ing television?

tmay 11 Years · 6456 comments

pmz said:

Do people really that much time watching Netflix while on cellular, that this so-called "Binge On" is even needed?
Why are you not on WiFi?
And if you're somewhere that isn't near WiFi, aren't you already doing something more interesting than watching ****ing television?

Some people don't have or won't pay for WiFi; my brother is in a location that Cable and DSL are quite expensive, so as a Sprint Unlimited user, he plugs his iPhone into his television and watches Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime.

He used 26 GB one month but sometime later, Sprint came out with a throttling policy after 23 GB.

tmay said:

pmz said:

Do people really that much time watching Netflix while on cellular, that this so-called "Binge On" is even needed?
Why are you not on WiFi?
And if you're somewhere that isn't near WiFi, aren't you already doing something more interesting than watching ****ing television?

Some people don't have or won't pay for WiFi; my brother is in a location that Cable and DSL are quite expensive, so as a Sprint Unlimited user, he plugs his iPhone into his television and watches Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime.

He used 26 GB one month but sometime later, Sprint came out with a throttling policy after 23 GB.

No.

None of that makes any sense. If you don't pay for some kind of WiFi and use cellular instead, you're an idiot.

kpluck 16 Years · 498 comments

From what I have read turning off "Binge On" fixes the issue. It seems to make sense if you want "Binge On" than the behavior described is what you want regardless if youtube is "officially" part of the program and if you don't want to use "Binge On" turning it off avoids the problem.

I am not sure I understand what the issue is here.

-kpluck