If you’ve ever been disappointed with the quality of Netflix videos when streaming them on AT&T or Verizon, and cursed the network for its poor connectivity, it appears that your wrath should instead have been directed towards Netflix.
The WSJ reports that Netflix has been deliberately throttling video on mobile devices for more than five years, but only admitting it now …
The popular video service said […] that for more than five years it has limited its video speeds to most wireless carriers across the globe, including AT&T and Verizon, to “protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps,” which may discourage future viewing.
This only came to light when T-Mobile said that it offered higher-quality Netflix streams than the two largest carriers, and accused them of throttling video. Both companies denied it, forcing Netflix to come clean.
Netflix said that it was acting to protect customers from excessive bills or loss of service.
Watching two hours of HD video on Netflix would consume up to 6 gigabytes of data, Netflix says. That is an entire month’s allowance under an $80 a month Verizon plan.
Netflix said it doesn’t limit its video quality at two carriers: T-Mobile and Sprint, because “historically those two companies have had more consumer-friendly policies.” When customers exceed their data plans on Sprint or T-Mobile, the carriers usually slow their network connections, rather than charge overage fees.
AT&T said that it was “outraged” at the practice, while Netflix said that it would be introducing a new feature in May that will allow subscribers to choose their video quality when using mobile data.
Netflix said it is also exploring “new ways to give members more control in choosing video quality.” It is working on a mobile “data saver” to be rolled out in May that would allow consumers to “stream more video under a smaller data plan, or increase their video quality if they have a higher data plan.”
Netflix has been coming under fire from many subscribers for blocking proxies and smart DNS services so that customers can no longer access content from other countries. The company first announced its intention to do this back in January, and has been gradually cutting off more and more services. It’s believed it is doing so after coming under increasing pressure from content providers who often licence TV shows on a market-by-market basis.
On a more positive note, 12.9-inch iPad Pro users now see full-resolution content following an app update that also introduced 3D Touch peek and pop.
Photo: The Verge
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The bigger story here, IMHO, is that two PARAGONS of the Net Neutrality fight—two companies that have testified before Congress about network bandwidth management as subject matter experts, two companies that have sued/are suing the FCC..—had no idea what one of the single largest bandwidth consumers on their networks, Netflix, was ACTUALLY DOING for 5 years. And to boot, they both got lured into a competition trap by T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere (who also didn’t seem to know who was at “fault” for the reduced resolution, considering he blamed the carriers) and ended up with egg on their faces.
Just astonishing. Outside of the embarrassment of getting their knees knocked out in a fight with a rascally competitor, the two largest wireless carriers in the US effectively proved their bandwidth management techniques are based on ignorance and assumption (not to even get into the idea: avarice), yet felt no pause in steaming ahead with trashing consumer-beneficial policy-making armed but with that poor data. Shameful.
Of course ‘AT&T was “outraged”’, think of all the overage charges they lost due to this outrageous practice of throating that is not initiated by the carrier (Carrier throttling is always right thing for the customer, right AT&T?) Talk about hypocritical, add this to the example to the dictionary.
I think they were outraged because it led their customers to think it was AT&T’s service that was poor. And putting the blame on them instead of Netflix.
Part of that was sarcasm, not all. After all you know AT&T has been accused/found throttling
So what? As long as it didn’t affect the performance, why would anyone care?
How is forcing lower resolution not affecting performance?
In the end, I really don’t give a damn about this since I don’t watch Netflix while on a cellular connection. If I did, I might care.
I’m inclined to be fine with Netflix trying to save us from consuming too much data. Giving the consumer the option is obviously the better plan (as they intend on doing with future updates), but I sympathize with the fact that they would rather error on the side of lower quality (less chances of data overages for the ignorant consumer) than to stream full quality HD video and cause a PR nightmare for themselves (causing customers to be afraid of streaming that “data hog” app, Netflix). It makes perfect sense to me. It’s a wise business decision that benefits Netflix and the consumer. The carriers stopped looking for win-win situations a long time ago. They do anything they can to make it win-lose in their favor.
Admittedly, I hate wireless carrier almost as much as I hate cable providers. They’re all hypocritical, greedy lowlifes with no regard for the customer. They have demonstrated many times over that they would rather *trick* their customers with sneaky policies and fine print in an attempt to gouge us for more money. I’m inclined to believe this is just the carriers angry that they missed out on another chance to hit us with huge fees. Screw you AT&T and Verizon and thank you Netflix for looking out for us (even though I am aware that your desire to protect the consumer only extends as far as customer retention goes. Lol.)!
I am sure Netflix had no intention of giving the consumer the option until they were caught. By not notifying the consumer, this is the same as the carrier “tricking” their customers with sneaky policies. If they aren’t providing the full resolution product to some customers that they are providing to others, they need to either charge less for the lower resolution customers or AT LEAST let the customer know that the stream they are paying for isn’t the same stream others are paying the same price for so that the customer can make an informed decision about what he or she wants.
Just because BNetflix is saying that their intention was to save us from ourselves doesn’t mean it’s ok. Give me the choice to burn my data plan if that’s what I want to do.
My grandfathered unlimited iPad plan can take the heat.
I can appreciate your perspective, but if Netflix is planning on launching their mobile “data server” in May, it is highly unlikely that these plans were not already in the works. To say that you’re “sure Netflix had no intention…” is baseless and unnecessarily inflammatory.
Additionally, they aren’t throttling quality on their service as a whole, but rather just on mobile devices with potentially limited data plans. Are you saying that you would have cancelled your Netflix account if you found out that the quality on your mobile device was not HD quality (something that is virtually unnecessary on a mobile device anyway)?
This comes down to an issue of Netflix making a decision that they considered to be “for the greater good”. I think it was a wise business decision, as there will be very few people who will care about this “issue” (other than a few “techies” who even know what any of this means), but would have been a huge issue for a lot of people had they taken the alternative route (and good luck educating the masses to data quality streaming costs without a healthy dose of overage charges).
It’s wonderful that you are tech savvy enough to know to monitor your data usage, but this policy has probably saved thousands of people (like my mother for instance) from streaming all day and getting a $300 overcharge on their phone bill. Your grandfathered unlimited iPad plan is the exception to the rule and policies are never tailored for the 1% (in this case, savvy tech users that were wise enough to grandfather an unlimited plan and know something about streaming quality).
@Jesse:
Obviously there’s a tinge of sarcasm for me to say that I’m sure Netflix would do anything in particular. I’m not Reed Hastings or some engineer at Netflix. But Netflix could have not throttled SPECIFICALLY AT&T or Verizon at any time if they wanted to. They also could have notified their customers that they were not getting the same quality stream as other customers. But they didn’t do any of this until they were outed by the 2 carriers they are throttling. Next you’ll tell me sarcasm has no place on the Internet? :)
I have no problem with Netflix making any business decision they want. What I do have a problem with is Netflix charging everyone the same but not providing the same level of service to everyone without-at the very least-disclosing it.
On top of that, Netflix made a huge deal a couple of years ago about one of the cable companies (Comcast?) throttling Netflix’s stream without telling anyone. If it’s not ok for other companies to do it then it’s not ok for Netflix to do it.
Would I have cancelled my Netflix account? Probably not. But that’s not the point. The point is that I-as a consumer-and you and every other Netflix subscriber has the right to know whether or not they are being treated fairly. All I’m saying is that Netflix should have disclosed to their customers that when you watch Netflix on your mobile device (and you are on AT&T or Verizon) then your stream will not be as good as on other carriers. God knows Apple has been sued for a hell of a lot less than this.
Whether it’s necessary on a mobile device also is somewhat beside the point in that on an iPad/Android tablet the resolution is greater than the HD stream, the difference between the throttled and non-throttled streams can be noticeable.
Again, just tell me what you’re doing and let me decide for myself if that’s acceptable to me.
I appreciate your comment about your grandmother’s likelihood of running up her wireless bill. My father would’ve in the same boat. Then set the lower resolution by default. The problem is that this argument as justification if Netflix had throttled everybody actoss the board. Only throttling certain carriers means this argument isn’t valid unless all carriers WERE throttled until they entered into an agreement with T-Mobile not to throttle their customers, and we just don’t know that this is what happened.
I suspect the truth is that Netflix is run by hypocrites who wanted to use throttling as a negotiation tactic while excoriating the carriers for doing the same thing.
This whole thing would have been fine IF Netflix had had the courtesy to notify customers. A simple pop up even once saying “Netflix is adjusting your quality to minimize possible bandwidth charges.” So the affected users knew, and knew whom to complain to — or whom NOT to bother. People probably sat on hold for hours insisting that Netflix quality was inferior with AT&T saying “it shouldn’t be! We’d love to charge you for more data!”
Instead they just kept that a complete secret.
I am ok with this, actually.
What other products and services that you pay full price for are you willing to be ok with shortchanging you?
Is it ok to let you pay for 10 gallons of gas but only give you 8 because you shouldn’t be driving so much anyway?
Is it ok to sell you a hard drive that says it’s 3 TB on the box but is only 2TB?
It’s on a mobile device…lighten up. I wouldn’t expect an iMax experience while sitting in a waiting room or on the toilet. I admit, this comment comes from a guy that doesn’t notice the difference in 720p vs 1080p. They both look great to me.
It’s not about what device it’s on-it’s about disclosing the difference and letting the customer decide if that’s ok with him or her.
It’s also about a company making a huge PR push about net neutrality while they violate the very principles they espouse.
These aren’t even equitable comparisons. You named win-lose scenarios that provide ZERO benefit to the consumer.
It would be more like your automobile manufacturer making your car more energy efficient (at the expense of horsepower). In the long run, it will likely save you money, but it would have been better to give the consumer the choice.
Or it would be like a 3TB hard drive that compresses your data without telling you to give you additional space. Again, it would have been better to let the consumer know or give the option to opt out of the compression.
Metaphors are a ridiculous way to make your point anyway. One can come up with a metaphor to justify almost anything. But, at least try to make the metaphors line up properly with the issue.
@TechSHIZZLE
What are you talking about?
This is a company who provides a service. You’re paying for that service. How they provide you that service and under what quality is NOT up to you. If it wasn’t up to par with your liking, cancel your service. Demanding any company you do not physically own or operate to run themselves according to your rules if a fallacious argument and ideology.
They throttled their service as they saw fit. It isn’t even close to your straw man analogies.
Where, in any of the fine print, does Netflix guarantee a particular resolution or quality. They did you a solid by avoiding additional bandwidth to your mobile device. They could do this to your set top box, TV or PC, and it IS STILL OK, because they are the company. You don’t get to act arrogantly just because you are the consumer or patron. Don’t like their service? THEN DON’T BUY IT!
This special snowflake mentality needs to stop. Seriously, what do you feel affords you the right to dictate any other person or company based on your ideas or beliefs?
They can run themselves any way they want. But if they charge me the same as they charge everyone else but provide less service to me than they provide to other customers then they need to tell me.
Furthermore, when they attack certain ISPs for throttling their customers without the ISPs disclosing it then they are hypocrites.
Netflix doesn’t GUARANTEE any particular resolution or quality. But I’m sure there is no fine print anywhere that says the resolution they provide you may be different than the resolution they provide me.
When is it arrogant to expect fair and equal treatment by a company when I’m not told that I won’t be? And again, I have no problem with getting a different service for the same money as other people-just disclose it and let me decide.
Netflix customer service has been awful for our family. I am not surprised that they ‘do’ things below the radar.
The moral of the story here is to do away with home broadband data caps.
This time last year I ditched AT&T at home for Cableone. I had a 125 GB cap with AT&T and 300 GB with Cableone. I never reached the cap while with With AT&T and after switching a I went past my new 300 GB cap twice people shortly after switching.
There is a day and night difference between viewing Netflix. No buffering, no lower resolution and just a great experience. The difference is because Netfli. Is smart enough to to look out for people on AT&T’s network and Dave them for overages. If it wasn’t for Netflix throttling me I would been over my data limit every month on AT&T
With Sling TV, Sony Vue, whatever Directv /AT&T service will be called and other internet TV subscriptions data caps need to be going away. It’s going to be easier and easier to go over your data limit. It’s why I thought the people yelling for 4K Apple TV were nuts, besides little content data usage and networks makes 4K streaming a. I go for most people.
Monitoring broadband usage is usually not the easiest thing to do. The consumer looses with way here with AT&T and Netflix, you get subpar video, but also avoid overages. If companies want to cap home data they should at least do so at reasonable levels and make tracking usage easier.
I’d be really annoyed if my iPhone was downloading full HD content, when it’s unnecessary on a screen that small (iPhone 6). 480p is more than good enough at that size.