Uncarrier 6: Streaming music doesn't count against your high speed data tier

[Bigballer]

True but some pay for the higher bandwidth so it may benefit them.. Especially on the other services .

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I would like to know which part of Google play music they'll "unlock"

I don't pay for their streaming services, but I have plenty of my 384 kbps music on the "cloud." I would love to be able to access that.

 

[zorak950]

I would like to know which part of Google play music they'll "unlock".

I've considered asking about that, but it seems unlikely we'll know until it happens. It might depend in part on how Google streams music. If your cloud music and their cloud music streams from the same servers, T-Mobile could have a hard time discriminating.

On the other hand, Spotify lets you stream specific songs on demand, so giving you access to your Google Play Music library isn't much different from a data perspective.

 

[Infinity]

According to T-Mobile this is available starting June 18th (yesterday). Well I tried it today as I am over my data cap and still can't stream from Pandora. Anyone else verified if this is actually working yet?

Just to update everyone, I received a text from T-Mobile today announcing Music Freedom. I then tried streaming Pandora and it was no longer throttled. Looks like it just took them a little longer to get it rolled out to everyone. Ookla Speedtest is also no longer throttled, even though I am over my cap. Sensorly still shows my actual speed (throttled in this case).

 

[Bigballer]

Just to update everyone, I received a text from T-Mobile today announcing Music Freedom. I then tried streaming Pandora and it was no longer throttled. Looks like it just took them a little longer to get it rolled out to everyone. Ookla Speedtest is also no longer throttled, even though I am over my cap. Sensorly still shows my actual speed (throttled in this case).

Tmobile unthrottled speed test?

 

[Almeuit]

Tmobile unthrottled speed test?

Yeah. http://www.tmonews.com/2014/06/ookla-speedtest-app-being-removed-from-throttling/

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[Bigballer]

Yeah. OOKLA Speedtest App being removed from throttling? | TmoNewsTmoNews

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kind of "deceitful"

 

[tonyr6]

Anyone has a list or tested other apps to see if it counts towards your data? I know that Pandora does not count and I am surprised the AudioAddict apps don't count either but what about the other apps like TuneIn Radio.

 

[Almeuit]

kind of "deceitful"

I disagree because they tell people their limits. Even the most basic of users understand limits so if they check their usage and it shows over their high speed allotment... Then they should expect for things to be slow such as Web browsing and stuff.

Just like if someone on AT&T went over they should expect to see an overage charge on their next bill.

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[Bigballer]

I disagree because they tell people their limits. Even the most basic of users understand limits so if they check their usage and it shows over their high speed allotment... Then they should expect for things to be slow such as Web browsing and stuff.

Just like if someone on AT&T went over they should expect to see an overage charge on their next bill.

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All it's telling me is the amount of speed that the network is capable of. Not the amount of speed I can receive, which is more important.

For instance, Comcast can give me 100 mbps at the flick of a switch, but instead gives me 6 mbps, what I'm throttled down to due to my plan. Sure the network is capable of 100 mbps+ instantly, but I don't receive that. By tmobile doing this, it's almost as if Comcast lifts off speed test so it'll say I receive 100, 200, 300 mbps when in actuality I only receive 6 mbps.

The data speeds I receive are more important than the "theoretical" data speeds the network is capable of.

Even when tmobile throttles you back, it's not web browsing that's going to be slow. In my experiences after being throttled, the only thing that can't be used are video chatting apps and watching videos. Everything else works except those two data hogs.

 

[Almeuit]

All it's telling me is the amount of speed that the network is capable of. Not the amount of speed I can receive, which is more important.

For instance, Comcast can give me 100 mbps at the flick of a switch, but instead gives me 6 mbps, what I'm throttled down to due to my plan. Sure the network is capable of 100 mbps+ instantly, but I don't receive that. By tmobile doing this, it's almost as if Comcast lifts off speed test so it'll say I receive 100, 200, 300 mbps when in actuality I only receive 6 mbps.

The data speeds I receive are more important than the "theoretical" data speeds the network is capable of.

Even when tmobile throttles you back, it's not web browsing that's going to be slow. In my experiences after being throttled, the only thing that can't be used are video chatting apps and watching videos. Everything else works except those two data hogs.

I get what you're saying.. But either way if someone checks their limit and is over.. They should expect throttle and slow speeds.. Regardless of a speed test or not.

Also the comcast thing doesn't really pair up to the same thing. They aren't throttling you down... You pay for 6... You get 6. Simple as that. Just like someone who pays for 3 GB high speed gets 3 GB high speed...

If you get technical like that comcast can give way... Way... Way... More than 100 Mbit to you. Sure they only show plans for that but.. The capacity is way more... Just like I pay for 25 and usually get 25...Sometimes a little more. I expect no throttle from comcast since they have no limit at the moment.

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[Bigballer]

I get what you're saying.. But either way if someone checks their limit and is over.. They should expect throttle and slow speeds.. Regardless of a speed test or not.

Also the comcast thing doesn't really pair up to the same thing. They aren't throttling you down... You pay for 6... You get 6. Simple as that. Just like someone who pays for 3 GB high speed gets 3 GB high speed...

If you get technical like that comcast can give way... Way... Way... More than 100 Mbit to you. Sure they only show plans for that but.. The capacity is way more... Just like I pay for 25 and usually get 25...Sometimes a little more. I expect no throttle from comcast since they have no limit at the moment.

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I get what you're saying they should expect a throttle and slow speeds, but in reality, they should only be speed tested the slow speeds.

I mean it basically comes down to the fact that either tmobile really wants to inflate their numbers on Speedtest or they want to give customers a "false sense of security."

If I'm throttled, I want to know what my throttled speeds are even though I know I'm throttled because that's essentially what I'm getting, ya know?

Either way speed test wastes a LOT of data. I've literally spent 500 mb sometimes on it a month. I hope it doesn't count to my data cap now...

 

[Almeuit]

I get what you're saying they should expect a throttle and slow speeds, but in reality, they should only be speed tested the slow speeds.

I mean it basically comes down to the fact that either tmobile really wants to inflate their numbers on Speedtest or they want to give customers a "false sense of security."

If I'm throttled, I want to know what my throttled speeds are even though I know I'm throttled because that's essentially what I'm getting, ya know?

Either way speed test wastes a LOT of data. I've literally spent 500 mb sometimes on it a month. I hope it doesn't count to my data cap now...

No problem then. Install sensorly and do their speed test .

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[Almeuit]

Also yeah they can eat up a lot of data.. If the speed is there. I've done a good amount of tests this month.. As you can see I've used 2 GB.

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[yfan]

Tmobile unthrottled speed test?

That is one point of view. The other is that you shouldn't have to waste your data allotment during speed tests. The whitelisting allows you to use your high speed allowance on things other than speed tests.

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[zorak950]

Why would you want to run that many speed tests, anyway?

 

[Almeuit]

Why would you want to run that many speed tests, anyway?

Well if you have limited I wouldn't advise it... I have unlimited so I was doing lots of tests around town.. Found out we had the "wideband" before they announced it due to it and network information.

I live in Jacksonville, FL and it's a very spread out town.. So I like to test various areas to see what to expect.

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[bryanus]

Anyone has a list or tested other apps to see if it counts towards your data? I know that Pandora does not count and I am surprised the AudioAddict apps don't count either but what about the other apps like TuneIn Radio.

I've done some basic testing with TuneInRadio. I've been streaming for a couple hours over cellular yesterday and this morning and my data usage is not showing any increase.

Also, I am already over my data usage limit of 1GB, so I don't know if my results would be any different if I wasn't already being throttled.

What I find interesting is that TuneInRadio is able to start streaming quickly, but I am just crawling when trying to get Google Play or Amazon Prime to start a stream. Maybe TuneIn made the unofficial cut?

Question: If I reach my data limit and am being throttled, does music streaming also get throttled, or are the supported services whitelisted and run at unthrottled speeds?

 

[tonyr6]

I think you answered your own question as you can stream quickly with TuneIn Radio it is not being throttled but Play and Prime music is.

 

[Almeuit]

Question: If I reach my data limit and am being throttled, does music streaming also get throttled, or are the supported services whitelisted and run at unthrottled speeds?

The music will run at full speed.

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[yfan]

If you stream Pandora 128 kbps (which is really the upper end of what pandora can use. Most of the time I feel as if it's 64 kbps) for 12 hours, that's only 0.69 GB.

So, using your math, if I listen to Pandora roughly 17 hours in a month (less than an hour a day), my entire 1GB high speed data allowance would be used up, and my other apps would crawl. Now, it doesn't matter. I definitely don't mind being able to save $10 a month (which I might have to do if this didn't become reality).

Let me also point out that you are harping on Pandora as if it is the only streaming service T-Mobile is supporting. Just his morning during my trip to the gym, in the gym, and then my trip to work, I consumed roughly 100 MB of streaming music over about 1.5 hours of listening, using Spotify and iHeartRadio. None of it counted against my T-mobile high speed data cap.

Yes, Pandora streams in fairly low quality - both for their own bottom line and for the sake of their user's data charges. But to assume that all streaming music is Pandora is a mistake. Even though Pandora absolutely dominates the streaming market, it still accounts for less than a third of total streaming music.