If there’s one thing guaranteed to eat your data plan’s allowance at an alarming rate, it’s streaming video. T-Mobile has been gradually adding more services to its Binge On program – which allows customers to stream lower-quality video from specific services without using up any of their data – and Re/code reports that Facebook video may be next in line.
From the report, it seems as if agreement has already been reached and now what’s left to do is figure out the technicalities. You might imagine that it would be easy enough to identify video from Facebook just from the URL, but it seems there is more to it than that.
The two companies have been working for some time, sources said, to add Facebook video to the list of services that T-Mobile supports. In exchange for the unlimited video streaming that comes with Binge On, customers agree to view video sent over the cellular network in less-than-HD quality.
Both T-Mobile and Facebook have declined to comment on the report.
It requires some technical work on the part of video services to make sure their video streams are identified to T-Mobile’s system. That work is still ongoing with Facebook, sources said.
Binge On does raise net neutrality issues. While it may seem like a good deal for customers, the end result could effectively be that big players have an advantage over smaller companies when it comes to getting an audience for their videos.
