Verizon accused of throttling speeds for streamed videos

Some Verizon Wireless subscribers have complained that their mobile data speeds were being limited whenever they streamed videos on Netflix or YouTube.

Users on both Reddit and the mobile-focused Howard Forums said they had noticed the speed cap. The Verge reported on the complaints yesterday.

In both threads, Verizon users had reported slower-than-advertised speeds whenever they streamed Netflix and YouTube. Many reported maximum internet speeds around 10 Mbps whenever using these two sites over their mobile data network.

According to the same users, they were getting the normal, faster download speeds Verizon advertised when they connected to other apps and websites.

In the case of Netflix, those who had noticed the change were largely using a internet speed test tool called Fast.com. The tool connected directly to Netflix's servers, and thus served as a barometer for overall Netflix speeds, but the speeds reported there were said to be slower than those found through tools like Ookla's Speedtest.net, which measured overall internet speeds.

Various users added their Netflix speeds were faster when they connected through a VPN, which circumvented a direct connection to Verizon itself.

Netflix had earlier slowed video speeds on certain mobile networks in an attempt to provide acceptable video quality and at the same time avoid pushing users over their monthly data caps.

Meanwhile, ''We've been doing network testing over the past few days to optimize the performance of video applications on our network," Verizon said a statement to Arstechnica. "The testing should be completed shortly. The customer video experience was not affected."

According to commentators, what Verizon called an optimisation test seemed more like a hard cap at 10Mbps, according to tests performed on Netflix's own speed testing tool.

Arstechnia said it ran the test itself on an iPhone handset and got a 10Mbps download speed on fast.com, which is Netflix's speed test tool.