T-Mobile adds a handful of new video content providers to its Binge On service, which now counts more than 500M hours of cellular viewing
T-Mobile US continued the expansion of its Binge On video platform, adding new content providers that the carrier said now number nearly 90 in total.
The carrier said beginning today, customers can access streaming-video content from Azubu, Dailymotion Games, Eyegroove, PBS and PBS Kids through the Binge On platform without impacting their cellular data allotment. To receive the benefit, streamed content over a cellular connection is limited to 480p quality, though customers can select to stream content at higher video quality over their cellular connection at the expense of their data bucket.
Customers with data plans of at least three gigabytes are provided free access to the Binge On service, while those with lesser data allotments using the service over a cellular connection will have their usage deducted from their plan, though T-Mobile US notes they will be able to access three times as much video using the platform. The carrier claims since the launch of Binge On last November as part of its “Un-carrier X” event, customers have streamed more than 500 million hours of cellular video without using their data and customers are watching up to two times more video from participating providers that stream free on limited data plans.
The Binge On platform has garnered some regulatory scrutiny as a potential violator of the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet rules. The FCC sent a letter to T-Mobile US seeking additional insight into the Binge On service, though FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler initially stated he did not think the service violated net neutrality or Open Internet provisions, indicating the offer was “highly innovative and highly competitive.” T-Mobile US earlier this year appeared to have soothed some content provider concerns by implementing content provider control over the video quality of the streamed content.
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