Does USB tethering could as mobile hotspot, and how do carriers limit video streaming to 480p?

[FreakyLocz14]

1) I am actually subscribed to T-Mobile's prepaid MVNO MetroPCS, and my plan has unlimited 4G LTE, but does not allow mobile hotspot usage. My question is: would USB tethering violate this rule? And what do they do to stop you from using hotspot/tethering?

2) How do carriers limit video streaming to 480p? For example, if I got to YouTube and select 720p, 1080p, 4K, or anything else higher than 480p, would it not let me stream the video, charge me a penalty on my bill, cut off my service, etc.?

 

[raino]

They won't do anything drastic if you try to play >480p quality video. The way it works--at least on TMO proper, maybe Metro too--is that they detect video content--theorized to be via something called deep packet inspection because it hits both streaming video and video file downloads--and throttle the speed to 1.5 Mbps. So if the streamed content can't dynamically adjust to delivering >480p quality at that speed, that's what you see.

Are you on some kind of a plan where you can't turn the 480p restriction off?

 

[FreakyLocz14]

They won't do anything drastic if you try to play >480p quality video. The way it works--at least on TMO proper, maybe Metro too--is that they detect video content--theorized to be via something called deep packet inspection because it hits both streaming video and video file downloads--and throttle the speed to 1.5 Mbps. So if the streamed content can't dynamically adjust to delivering >480p quality at that speed, that's what you see.

Are you on some kind of a plan where you can't turn the 480p restriction off?

Metro has 2 unlimited data plans: $60/mo. for no limit on video streaming resolution and 8 GB or mobile hotspot, while the other plan is $50/mo. for unlimited data, but no hotspot and video streaming is limited to 480p.

 

[ratsttam]

To answer question #1 , usb tethering is considered tethering. It is subject to the same rules and restrictions. Likely the built in tethering solution will still validate against your account, the same that the wifi tethering would. So when you turn tethering on (wired or wireless) it will check, and if your account isn't flagged as having tethering available, it simply won't enable.
Now, there are solutions to bypass this, but this is NOT the place to discuss that.

2: As Raino mentioned, they use deep packet inspection at their switches and "throttle" the bandwidth down to 1.5mpbs, which is generally more sufficient to play most sources at 480p. Some may be better optimized, so you can get better than 480p, but it's not really "going any faster", it's just better optimized to the lower bandwidth.

 

[LeoRex]

1) I am actually subscribed to T-Mobile's prepaid MVNO MetroPCS, and my plan has unlimited 4G LTE, but does not allow mobile hotspot usage. My question is: would USB tethering violate this rule? And what do they do to stop you from using hotspot/tethering?

2) How do carriers limit video streaming to 480p? For example, if I got to YouTube and select 720p, 1080p, 4K, or anything else higher than 480p, would it not let me stream the video, charge me a penalty on my bill, cut off my service, etc.?

On 1)... ANY data that is going to anything other than your phone would be considering tethering.... so USB, Wifi or Bluetooth tethering, same deal. As for how they know, it's in the packets. Your phone will provision data packets differently between phone traffic and tether traffic. So all they have to do at that point is block that traffic once it hits their routers. On the tethered device, you will see a network connection that can't get out into the internet.. you'll see "No Internet" or something to that effect.

2) As someone said, they just cut the bandwidth for that stream. Video streaming codecs will then see this reduction and compensate the quality down do it can maintain a constant stream (or at least the ones that are able, otherwise you'll just get buffered to hell). If you go into Youtube and try to bump it to 1080 or 4K, if it even allows the option when it detects a lower bandwidth connection, I think it'll just immediately drop it down to the most appropriate level as soon as it starts steaming the data.