Binge On Is Throttling, EFF Says
The Electronic Frontier Foundation said a new study by researchers at Northeastern University and the University of Southern California shows problems with T-Mobile’s zero-rated Binge On service. The FCC has been investigating whether Binge On violates net neutrality rules (see…
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1604260054). Researchers “confirmed that Binge On works by throttling video data to 1.5 Mbps without doing any sort of optimization,” EFF said in a Tuesday news release. “But the researchers went even further, showing how Binge On can result in worse-quality video (especially for mobile devices with high-resolution screens), and explaining how it could also result in decreased battery lifetime (due to the longer download times Binge On causes).” Much of the paper is technical, EFF said. “The fundamental point is that T-Mobile is doing deep-packet inspection to support a brittle zero-rating service that discriminates against edge providers who don’t want to make a private deal with T-Mobile,” EFF said. “Binge On throttles -- not optimizes -- video regardless of whether or not it’s zero-rated, sometimes resulting in a poorer video streaming experience for T-Mobile customers.”