In June of last year, T-Mobile officially unveiled “Music Freedom,” which allowed subscribers to stream music from certain services without impacting their monthly high-speed data allowance. Now that trend shifts to video.
During its Un-carrier X event on Tuesday, November 10, the Magenta Carrier officially announced what it calls “Binge On,” a new feature for T-Mobile customers that will allow them to stream video content from a variety of sources all without taking away from their monthly data allotment.
There are some caveats, though. First and foremost, T-Mobile will be using a proprietary data compression algorithm to make sure that video is streamed at 480p, or “DVD quality.” Those that don’t want to have their video compressed in this fashion can toggle the feature off, though, but that won’t provide free video streaming. On top of that, Binge On is only available for subscribers that are subscribed to a data plan of 3GB per month or higher. Binge On officially begins Sunday, November 15.
At launch, Binge On is supported by 24 video providers: Netflix, VUDU, Hulu Plus, HBO GO, HBO Now, Vevo, Encore Play, Starz Play, Showtime, MLB.tv, NBC Sports, Movieplex Play, Vessel, Sling TV, Sling Box, Go90, T-Mobile TV, Crackle, FOX Sports, FOX Sports Go, DirecTV, Univision Sports, and Ustream.
Not to leave data untouched completely, T-Mobile also confirmed that it will be doubling data allotments for its Simple Choice subscribers. Now, instead of offering high-speed data plans at 1GB, 3GB and 5GB options, Simple Choice plans will now come in 2GB, 6GB and 10GB plans. Those that are already subscribed to one of these plans will be upgraded at no extra charge.
