T-Mobile Bing On mode promises to let users watch unlimited Netflix and Hulu video; the problem is that it also slows down and reduces video quality for all other video services you'd might use.
T-Mobile's colorful CEO, John Legere, has a very peculiar way to address the public; but in this case it seems there's no doubt that, like most (all?) other telecom operators, he simply wants to redefine the meaning of words to suit what he wants everyone to think.
As if the issue of zero rating wasn't already a touchy subject (some video services won't count for your data plan, others will), EFF did some tests and found Binge On drastically reduces your mobile internet speed - this means that, although you can stream Netflix (at 480p) for as long as you want, if you try and watch YouTube, you'll be seeing a reduced quality version of the video you'd want to see, as speeds drop from about 5Mbps to just 1.5Mbps.
As you'd expect, Legere says it's all "bullshit" and that he's doing a great thing, and it's EFF and Google's fault for not understanding just how amazing and great (and whatever) this mode is for T-Mobile customers. Sure...
I'm really worried, thinking if people like Legere really believe what they say, or if they simply hope that, by repeating it over and over, people might start believing them. In either case, it's worrisome to see just how much they're bending and twisting net neutrality rules in order to do one thing and one thing alone: save money, increase profits, offer a worse service, and have customers think it's all good and great. At this rate, next year we'll have Bing On Turbo, a service that gives you unlimited mobile internet for all services you want... with just a slight limitation: your data connection will be limited to 1Kbps maximum speed. :P
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