Netflix Admits to Providing Slower Service for AT&T and Verizon Networks

But not for the reasons you might think.

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If Netflix is loading rather slowly on your phone, you might wanna hold off on the complaints to your carrier. The streaming service just admitted to throttling data for Verizon and AT&T users. However, the "favor" isn’t being returned for those with Sprint or T-Mobile.

As it turns out, Netflix has been doing so in order to prevent customers on those networks from going over their monthly data caps, the Wall Street Journalreports. The practice, which has been going on for five years, has been critiqued for providing lower quality videos for other users. The revelation comes after T-Mobile’s chief executive accused Verizon of AT&T of doing so for their customers last week.

AT&T is not happy about the recent admission. "We’re outraged to learn that Netflix is apparently throttling video for their AT&T customers without their knowledge or consent," Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs, said.

Netflix maintains that they are looking at new ways to allow users to control the quality of their videos. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is developing a mobile "data saver" to be released in May which lets users "stream more video under a smaller data plan, or increase their video quality if they have a higher data plan."

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