T-Mobile’s Binge On program is great news for consumers. The ability to watch as much video as you want using mobile data without it eating into your data cap? Sign us up! However there are some who aren’t necessarily a fan, such as YouTube who previously claimed that Binge On throttled their videos, and the EFF who seemingly confirmed their claims.Recently it looks like T-Mobile’s Binge On is back in the spotlight again, this time thanks to Stanford law professor and net neutrality expert, Barbara van Schewick, who filed a 51-page report with the FCC in which she alleges that Binge On is most likely illegal as it “harms competition, innovation and free speech”.
To be more specific, van Schewick wrote, “Binge On allows some providers to join easily and creates lasting barriers for others, especially small players, non-commercial providers, and start-ups. As such, the program harms competition, user choice, free expression, and innovation.” She also points out that Binge On is technically not unlimited, as customers who have hit their monthly data cap.
Will the FCC do anything about van Schewick’s claims? Last we heard, the FCC had praised the feature as being “highly innovative”, and a recent meeting with the FCC chairman was said to be productive. Consumers also don’t seem to be too fussed either, having watched 34 petabytes of video since its launch.