Netflix admits to throttling video speeds on AT&T and Verizon

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Netflix wants to serve you offline.
Netflix wants to serve you offline.
Photo: Netflix

AT&T and Verizon usually get all the blame when it comes to throttling mobile data speeds, but in the case of Netflix, the service has revealed that it is to blame for lowering the video quality on mobile streaming videos.

Netflix says it has been limiting video speaks on AT&T, Verizon, and most other wireless carriers across the globe for the last five years, in order to “protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps” that would stop them from binging on all of the service’s shows.

Netflix told the Wall Street Journal that streams are capped at 600 kilobits-per-second slower that what should be possible. The company hadn’t revealed the practice to customers or networks, however the issue was uncovered last week after T-Mobile’s CEO claimed AT&T and Verizon customers were receiving throttled streams.

Customers on T-Mobile and Sprint are not subjected to any throttling because Netflix says the companies have historically had more consumer-friendly policies. Instead of adding extra charges for going over data caps, T-Mobile and Sprint usually just slow down a customer’s connection.

The revelation that Netflix is doing the throttling is a bit of a shocker as the company has been a big advocate of the net-neutrality fight to treat all internet traffic equally. The steaming video service is the largest data consumer in the US which has led it to get into multiple fights with carriers and Internet service providers.

AT&T’s VP of legislative affairs, Jim Cicconi rebuked Netflix for the throttling saying the company is “outraged to learn that Netflix is apparently throttling video for their AT&T customers without their knowledge or consent.” Meanwhile, Verizon’s spokesperson merely stated “Verizon delivers video content at the resolution provided by the host service, whether that’s Netflix or any other provider.”

Netflix says its working on new ways to give customers more control over their video streaming quality in the future by rolling out a data saver in May that will let you set how much of your data plan you want to use.

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