Verizon Reportedly Throttling Customers…Again. Help Us Report Their Behavior to the FCC
According to reports I’ve seen on The Verge and various postings on Reddit and other forums, Verizon appears to be throttling its customers again. Customers are specifically reporting issues on popular services Netflix and Youtube, with many people unable to reach download speeds faster than 10Mbps. I would love to say I’m surprised by this news, but I’m not. As we’ve previously reported Verizon and other ISPs have throttled downloads repeatedly in the past.
Rather than sit back and watch the news unfold, I asked my co-workers to take some time to test speeds – first over Verizon’s network and then while using VyprVPN (VyprVPN helps defeat throttling, as I’ve previously explained). Here’s what we found:
Verizon initially denied capping speeds for any users – “We are definitely not capping data on our end and don’t cap data for any mobile networks,” they said – but later admitted to throttling video in apparent violation of net neutrality.
In our testing we decided to include other telcos the United States to see if they too are throttling. As an early teaser, the answer is absolutely. We’ll be following up with additional posts on various providers to expose their shady practices.
We Need Your Support to Fight Back
Verizon’s behavior comes at a pivotal time. The debate over Net Neutrality – or regulations which prohibit slowing Internet speeds as well as limiting access to content or discriminating against Internet traffic – is in full swing. If existing Net Neutrality guidelines are revoked, companies like Verizon who are notorious for high prices and poor service will have license to do whatever they want. In order to prove Verizon is throttling, we need your help. We’d like to do extensive testing throughout the United States (for all telcos). We’ll take this data and file a report directly to the FCC with our conclusions on what Verizon, AT&T, Sprint etc. are doing to identify the traffic and separately throttle it. The FCC has an open comment period on Net Neutrality that closes on August 16, 2017, so time is of the essence.
Here’s How You Can Help
To help us out, follow these simple steps:
- Get your mobile phone or computer
- Stream video using either Netflix or YouTube using your standard Verizon mobile connection
- Go to https://fast.com/ (Netflix’s speed testing site), run a speed test, and record your speed
- Connect to VyprVPN and repeat the process, streaming the same video for comparison purposes
- Compare speeds achieved on your Verizon connection and then when using VyprVPN
- Share your results by emailing [email protected] using the subject line “Verizon Throttling”
Let us know what mobile provider you are using. Even if you don’t use Verizon, the information helps us make our case to the FCC!
How To Defeat Throttling
I hope your speeds aren’t impacted, but if they are there is something you can do to increase them now – use a VPN! VPNs, like VyprVPN, encrypt your Internet connection, meaning your ISP can’t see what you’re doing online. If they can’t inspect your traffic it’s much more difficult (if not impossible) for them to slow your speed based upon your online activity. Thus using a VPN while streaming increases speeds and defeats throttling implemented by Verizon or any other provider. Get VyprVPN now to retain fast streaming speeds on YouTube and Netflix, regardless of what your ISP is doing.
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