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Verizon To Start Throttling All Smartphone Videos To 480p or 720p (arstechnica.com)

Posted by msmash on from the what-in-the-world dept.

Verizon Wireless will start throttling video streams to resolutions as low as 480p on smartphones this week. Most data plans will get 720p video on smartphones, but customers won't have any option to completely un-throttle video. From a report: 1080p will be the highest resolution provided on tablets, effectively ruling out 4K video on Verizon's mobile network. Anything identified as a video will not be given more than 10Mbps worth of bandwidth. This limit will affect mobile hotspot usage as well. Verizon started selling unlimited smartphone data plans in February of this year, and the carrier said at the time that it would deliver video to customers at the same resolution used by streaming video companies. "We deliver whatever the content provider gives us. We don't manipulate the data," Verizon told Ars in February. That changes beginning on Wednesday, both for existing customers and new ones. The changes were detailed today in an announcement of new unlimited data plans. Starting August 23, Verizon's cheapest single-line unlimited smartphone data plan will cost $75 a month, which is $5 less than it cost before. The plan will include only "DVD-quality streaming" of 480p on phones and 720p on tablets.The new Verizon cell phone plans can be compare side by side here, along with all of Verizon's existing plans.

9 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. Net neutrality anyone? by courteaudotbiz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't this 100% against Net Neutrality??

    1. Re:Net neutrality anyone? by beelsebob · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Net Neutrality is not only about throttling one particular company. It's about applying any filter that causes some data to be treated differently to another.

      If I suddenly can't download certain files as they're hosted on the server, because the ISP deemed them filter worthy, that certainly is a violation of net neutrality.

    2. Re:Net neutrality anyone? by Penguinisto · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Blackholing http-based DDoS packets would violate your definition of net neutrality, so maybe you shouldn't try to be so absolutist? Sometimes throttling *types* of packets is a good thing (now in TFA's case, that's up for debate.)

      Also, NN is based on not discriminating based on source, as opposed to based on type. For instance, Coho.net (a local Pacific NW Fixed-wireless ISP) specifically filters out and blocks as much BitTorrent traffic as it can detect, and says as much in their policy. They've done this for years now, through various FCC Net Neutrality pronouncements and rulesets, and have yet to see any issues with the FCC over it.

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    3. Re:Net neutrality anyone? by Holi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So Net Neutrality does not allow for QoS?

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
  2. Thanks, Trumpers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Trump supporters are dumber than cattle

  3. Why is this a bad thing? by Nkwe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As long as Verizon or its "select partners" don't get a pass and are not allowed to stream video faster, it's not a net neutrality thing. Prioritization by protocol (as long as the rules are the same for all endpoints) does not violate the concept of net neutrality. There is a physical limit on the bandwidth available in any radio based system and it is the responsibility of a network provider to manage that bandwidth properly for the health of the network itself. Why is it unreasonable to put limits protocols that are known to use lots of bandwidth (eg video) as long as those limits are applied universally? And from the summary, they are talking about 10Mbs video streaming bandwidth limit - that is sufficient for a high definition stream on a 70 inch television (with multi-channel surround sound), certainly it is enough for the screen size of a phone or tablet being listened to in stereo at best.

  4. This was inevitable... by toonces33 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Any time you have a resource where usage is unchecked, people will consume more and more of it until it is unusable for everyone. If there were no limits, then what's the downside to people streaming more and more? Nothing. Expanding bandwidth costs real money, and in some cases there are spectrum limits which prevent them from expanding much more. Ever used the free WiFi in an airport - the dopey kids sitting across from you are streaming some mind-rot and killing the bandwidth for everyone else. So the kids get the lolz, and you can barely get your work emails.

  5. * Unlimited data plan by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Insightful

    * Except for the limits.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  6. Does VZ throttle VPNs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If VZ doesn't throttle VPNs, then just get a VPN account which averages a few bucks a month if you buy a year of access up front, then stream all your video though the VPN, they'll have no way to identify the video traffic to throttle it.