Another study, and the findings are the same:
"We also find throttling practices that are poorly disclosed..."
"Poorly disclosed" is a qualitative statement, while the research paper is supposed to be about quantitative measurements. Either way, on the main page of AT&T's wireless plans, just scrolling through I found the following:
"Play your entertainment in 480p DVD-quality"
and a little farther down the page, under
Quick facts about AT&T Unlimited &MoreSM plans:
"Are there limits to what I can stream, or how I can use my data?
On AT&T Unlimited &MoreSM, for all data usage, customer may temporarily experience reduced speeds on these line(s) during times of network congestion. Video streaming is limited to 1.5 Mbps (SD quality).
What is Stream Saver?
Stream Saver is included on select plans, including the new AT&T Unlimited &MoreSM Premium plan. Stream Saver is designed to identify streaming video content over the mobile network so that data speed and resolution of higher definition video can be adjusted to Standard Definition quality (about 480p). This allows customers to stream more video while using the same amount of data. Stream Saver will not apply to content it cannot identify as video. Additionally, your ability to stream and the resolution of video can be affected by other factors. Video content streamed over Wi-Fi is not impacted by Stream Saver, nor is video from content providers who opt out of Stream Saver. Learn more at
Stream Saver."
T-Mobile's Plans page clearly lists "SD Streaming" or "HD Streaming" based on the plan you choose.
Sprint's Plans page clearly lists "DVD-quality SD video streaming (480p)," "HD video streaming(1080p)," or "Full HD Streaming" based on the plan you choose, although I am uncertain what the difference is between the latter two.
Verizon's website is unusable, so I gave up after 5 minutes of trying to get details about plans, so I will give allow "poorly disclosed" in reference to Verizon. The other three were stupidly easy to find however.
