More recently, the Verge reported that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Wireless seemed to be throttling video and today, the firm appears to have come clean. The company implicitly acknowledged of capping the traffic, accusing the matter on a provisional video optimization test.
The details
A Verizon Wireless spokesperson reported that they have been performing network testing over the previous few days to improve the performance of video applications on their network. The testing should be done shortly. The consumer video experience was not impacted. This is a weird statement, apparently referring to something entirely different from what consumers actually witnessed. What consumers experienced wasn’t optimization, but a clear cap, with assessments from Netflix’s speed-test instrument demonstrating measurably lower rates compared to non-Netflix tests.
While Netflix was the single service to showcase a speed-test device producing measurements, it now seems that similar caps were put to all video apps on the Verizon Wireless network. A follow-up statement from a Verizon executive took issue with this publication, terming it “dead wrong” and mentioning that it makes no sense.
The representative mentioned that they are constantly checking the network. It’s what they do, to improve performance for their clients. The check was across the board, and didn’t target any specific applications. The representative validated that a 10Mbps cap was in offering for some users. The customer video experience should have been unfazed by the test since 1080p video marks as HD quality and looks remarkable at 10 [Mpbs].
Those clarifications appear consistent with a wide the-board throttle on video platforms, put in place without disclosure to consumers. It’s valid that, as pointed out in initial article, many customers would not be able to see 10Mbps limit on their video speeds. However, if that is what Verizon Communications means by optimization, then it appears an awful lot like the controlling scenarios net neutrality supporters have been cautioning about for years.