T-Mobile Is Likely Violating Net Neutrality

Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a much-celebrated net neutrality order, which is now on appeal before a federal court. Specifically, while an app like YouTube may send HD-quality streams, T-Mobile is reducing the stream to DVD quality—a quality also known as “not HD.” T-Mobile throttles this video whether or not the video provider is a Binge On data partner, and it does so for every user except those who specifically opt-out online or through a call. The FCC made it clear that throttling was “inherently … unjust and unreasonable,” so it “bann conduct that … inhibits the delivery of … particular classes of content, applications, or services.” Said another way, and said again by the FCC, “if a broadband provider degraded the delivery of a particular application … or class of application … it would violate the bright-line no-throttling rule.” It also does not matter that T-Mobile provides a mobile service, not a home cable service, because the FCC applied “the same rules to both fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service.” That means T-Mobile is subject to the same blanket ban on throttling as cable companies. I had to create a T-Mobile Web account for the first time, which involved setting a password and three security questions; I then seemed unable to opt out through “Change Plan,” “Change Data,” or “Change Service,” or under “Usage,” but eventually found the opt-out under “Profile,” then “Media Settings.” T-Mobile seems to believe that it is doing its users a favor. As the nonprofit Free Press stated, “you fabricate a problem for customers; then you make that problem go away and act like you’ve done them a huge favor.” There is just one exception to the FCC’s no-throttling rule—if a company can prove that throttling is “reasonable network management.” But the FCC specified a few factors to determine whether network management is “reasonable,” including whether congestion management affects all applications equally or is “triggered only during times of congestion and whether it is based on a user’s demand during the period of congestion.” Here, T-Mobile is throttling some applications and not others, not throttling only during times of congestion, and doing so at all times.