Research results that major communication carriers are almost always limiting the speed of video distribution services
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With the rise of video distribution services such as Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video, the proportion of movie viewing in the world's Internet traffic is increasing. According to a 2018 report, the majority of traffic is actually occupied by watching movies. Meanwhile, major American carriers have been accused of 'restricting the communication speed of video distribution services', and in recent studies, speed restrictions by carriers are not temporary, but are always done. It became clear.
A Large-Scale Analysis of Deployed Traffic Differentiation Practices-wehe.pdf
(PDF file) https://wehe.meddle.mobi/papers/wehe.pdf
Wireless Carrier Throttling of Online Video Is Pervasive-Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-19/wireless-carrier-throttling-of-online-video-is-pervasive-study
In 2017, Verizon , a major telecom carrier in the United States, became a hot topic after it was discovered that it had conducted a “test to restrict communications on YouTube and Netflix” without permission . At that time, Verizon explained that it was a 'temporary test of a new video optimization system,' but was accused of swaying network neutrality .
Network neutrality is the idea that Internet service providers should treat all data on the Internet equally, without distinguishing them by content. If an operation such as “Let's reduce the communication speed because it is a movie” or “Let's increase the communication speed of this service”, the neutrality of the network will be lost.
However, as a result of continued investigation after that, it turned out that not only Verizon but also AT & T of major communication carriers were limiting the speed of YouTube and Netflix in 2018. The carrier said about a series of problems: “If you want to watch movies on your smartphone, you have to sacrifice speed.” Furthermore, the movie communication restrictions claim that it falls under 'reasonable network management', an exception set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that regulates network neutrality violations.
YouTube and Netflix mobile apps turned out to be speed limited by major communication carriers-GIGAZINE
Research teams at Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst , who are studying network infringement by such communication carriers, released an app called ' Wehe '. Through Wehe, we collect data on speed limits for various web services from over 126,000 smartphone users in 161 countries around the world.
In the 650,000 tests conducted in the United States from 2018 to 2019, AT & T said that speed was limited at a rate of 70% for Netflix and 74% for YouTube among all tests. On the other hand, it became clear that Amazon Prime Video was not restricted. The services subject to communication restrictions differed by each communication carrier, T-Mobile restricted Amazon Prime Video in 51% of all tests, and Vimeo , a video sharing service, did not restrict it .
However, as the result of the test shows that the speed limit of the video distribution service is more than half of the results, the research team is not only when the speed limit of the major communication carrier is a heavy load on the network, It is pointed out that it is almost always done. David Choffnes of Northeastern University, who did the research, commented, “They are speeding 24/7, not based on network overload.”
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“We are not limited or discriminating by content or reducing network performance. Users can manage the speed and functionality of data communications themselves,” said AT & T spokesman Jim Greer. 'Is a statement.' According to Greer, the Wehe app doesn't support a drop in communication speed based on user settings and plans, so incorrect measurement results have been collected. He explained that AT & T is in contact with Wehe developers to improve app performance and solve problems.
In addition, the research team also pointed out that the communication carrier could not restrict certain services due to “errors” for the results of the speed limit level differed for each video distribution service. He stated that some video delivery services may not have been detected due to technical improvements to the system. Choffnes commented, “Telecommunication carriers may be trying to maintain fairness by restricting all video distribution services.”
The research team of Choffnes and others will continue to announce research results on speed limits by major telecommunications carriers. He continued to publish the results of the study and expressed his view that problems could be forgotten by regularly raising topics on network neutrality.
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