T-Mobile has
added more services to its
Binge On feature of its price plans, increasing the number of supported apps and services to more than 40. The carrier's service, which allows users of video streaming services to view content without it affecting their data allowance, has added support for Amazon Video, Fox News, Univision NOW, and WWE Network, with T-Mobile also making it easier for its customers to turn off the service completely.
Subscribers can check the status of the service for their device by using the short code #BNG# (#264#) with their dialer, #BOF# (#263#) to turn it off, and #BON# (#266#) to turn it back on. Settings can also be performed from the user's account on the website, and will be arriving in a T-Mobile app update in the coming weeks.
The new option to add or remove Binge On follows complaints that all video streams passing through the carrier were downgraded or throttled, regardless of whether Binge On supported it or not. T-Mobile claimed YouTube's
throttling accusation was
misleading, in that it makes the video "mobile optimized" for subscriber devices. The
FCC has also taken an interest, checking to see if the function works against net neutrality principles.
According to T-Mobile, subscribers on qualifying data plans are watching twice as much video than before Binge On was introduced, with one supported service enjoying a 79 percent jump in daily viewers. Another video service that isn't on the Binge On list is also seeing an increase in hours from T-Mobile customers of 33 percent. Since Binge On's launch, T-Mobile customers have so far streamed 34 petabytes of video.