Sprint's Boost Mobile is now giving users the option to stream videos at full speed. For at least the last two years Boost has been throttling video streaming to 600 Kbps. The 600 Kbps throttle is still the default but now users on
current Boost Mobile plans can turn off the throttling by selecting a new
EnhancedStream option in the My Account section of the Boost Mobile website.
Boost has a
page on their site
explaining the new option. It includes the scary graphic above showing how long 10 GB of data will last at various bitrates. According to Boost, at the throttled 600 Kbps rate, which Boost calls
SmartStream, 10 GB is good for 37 hours of video. On the other hand, if you are using Enhanced streaming and you manage to find a 12 Mbps stream, your 10 GB will be gone in just 1.9 hours.
By default streaming services like
NetFlix and
YouTube detect the speed of your connection and adjust the quality to the highest that your connection can support. So enabling EnhancedStream should cause video apps to deliver higher quality video and that will result in higher data consumption.
In reality watching videos on a phone or tablet is unlikely to consume over 5 GB per hour as Boost's graphic suggests. That's because mobile streaming apps can't actually keep a 12 Mbps pipe full. Here are some numbers from mobile broadband provider
Karma's blog detailing the estimated data consumption by the NetFlix and YouTube mobile apps:
NetFlix:
- Low quality: 300 MB/hour
- Medium quality: 700 MB/hour
- High quality: 1 GB/hour SD, 2.8 GB HD
By default NetFlix uses the
Auto playback quality setting that chooses the highest quality your connection and device can support. But you can choose whether you want NetFlix to use
auto, low, medium or
high quality by going to your Netflix
Your Account setting's
My Profile > Playback settings section. The playback quality setting is only available on the NetFlix website and changing the quality settings there applies to all devices. It's not possible to use one setting for your phone and another for a set-top box like a Roku player that's connected to your wired broadband account
YouTube:
- 240p: 96 MB/hour
- 360p: 156 MB/hour
- 480p: 240 MB/hour
- 720p: 444 MB/hour
- 1080p: 744 MB/hour
The YouTube app lets you restrict HD (720p) and greater playback to WiFi. Go to
Settings > General and check
Limit mobile data usage to limit playback to 480p or less on cellular connections.
About the only way to use up 10 GB in less than two hours is by using your phone as a hotspot to drive a PC, Smart TV or Roku player and use it to watch videos in NetFlix's
Ultra HD mode which uses up to 7 GB/hour. The NetFlix mobile apps don't support Ultra HD.
EnhancedStream current only seems to be available to Boost Mobile subscribers. Virgin Mobile and Sprint Prepaid customers' video playback is still throttled to 600 Kbps.
Source
Boost Mobile
Related:
Thanks to Net Neutrality, Sprint No Longer Throttling the Top 5% of Users
MetroPCS and Cricket Customers Can Slash Their Payment in Half at Boost Mobile
Prepaid Operator Profile: Boost Mobile
Pffft! For only 5 more dollars per month you can get truly unlimited data with MetroPCS. Sprint has to make a better offering than what they have in order to make any kind of dent in the marketplace.
ReplyDeleteSsshhhh you know someone is going to say oh the coverage sucks for metro pcs.
DeleteMetro speeds really sucks in my city. I rather have 10gb of high speed (18mbps ave) with Boost than really slow unlimited with Metro.
DeleteMetroPCS has a $35/mo "truly unlimited" (not throttled) data plan?
ReplyDeleteAll companies throttle their internet no matter what company you go with. The FCC regulates the internet and doesn't allow a line of service go over the allotted amount in their area.
DeleteThat's incorrect. The FCC does not require or encourage carriers to throttle video or anything else. The carriers do it on their own to reduce data consumption and to be able to charge more for unthrottled access.
Delete"All companies throttle their internet no matter what company you go with. The FCC regulates the internet and doesn't allow a line of service go over the allotted amount in their area."
DeleteI can't imagine that being true in a world where I see screen shots of such things as 100+ mbps download speeds.
IF that's throttling, I guess the speed-of-light is throttling, too.
And see what Dennis said.
I didn't know Sprint throttled video streaming on it's prepaid brands. I thought Tracfone was the only one with this shady business practice. Are there any more companies that do this?
ReplyDelete"Ssshhhh you know someone is going to say oh the coverage sucks for metro pcs."
ReplyDeleteIt does. but coverage "sucks" for Sprint also, which makes this comparison actually very solid.
where is this menu on the boost website, i dont see any menu of " enhanced stream " on boost website in my account
ReplyDeleteAre you on a current Boost plan? EnhancedStream is not available on grandfathered plans. It's probably on the Plan & Addons tab of My Account.
DeleteI am on 1/2 rate plan, ported from cricket. I dont see anymenu for " enhanced stream ".
DeleteThis plus the half off plans for Cricket users makes me consider switching. Only problem is having to buy phones. Looks like the Volt 2 is coming out AFTER the switching promotion ends :( Any other phones that they sell really don't interest me (either too expensive or too basic) Looks like I'll stick with Cricket.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Cricket will match this soon.
DeleteAnd at least if you stay and don't to to Boost, won't lose coverage.
Cricket will not match Boost's offer AT&T likes the profit from Cricket and they will not do a lot of promotions. So customers will pay for the coverage whether they need it or not.
DeleteI actually mis-read the release date for the Volt 2 to be JULY 29th, but it's June 29th. So it looks like that phone will be out before the half off promotion ends.... hmmm.
DeleteCricket has done some great promotions already. I suppose they will do more unless there has been a sudden change.
Delete"So customers will pay for the coverage whether they need it or not."
Mostly, compared to any Sprint plan. they end up paying a lot less for a lot more coverage. Which they will find out they "need" if they leave their front yards.
Thank goodness in nyc metro pcs works just fine and no need for any other company
ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff on bandwidth requirements. I've been wondering how much bandwidth FaceTime Audio on iPhones uses? Specifically, whether it is under 128kbs.
ReplyDeleteI'm on a Slash your Plan in Half plan and I don't see anything resembling Enhanced Stream under the Plan & Addons tab of My Account. Customer service, including two supervisors, claim it doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteI would be very grateful if someone could tell me how to deactivate the video throttling. Thanks
The page used to be at www.boostmobile.com/enhancedstream/ but Boost took that page down and redirected requests for it to www.boostmobile.com/shop/plans/databoost/
DeleteIt appears the enhanced stream option is no longer available.
The link in the article points directly to Boost's homepage. I would love to have the correct link so I could point customer service to it.
ReplyDeleteI was looking for the latest updates that are available on my Roku app and happened to
ReplyDeletecome across this article on the internet.
I must say that this is one of the best blogs with detailed info on all
the features that you can generally find on the app. Besides,
they also have taken the time to illustrate the features available with all Roku players after performing an update of the OS.
By the way, to perform a system update for your OS, simply
connect the device to the internet and it will automatically happen.