T-Mobile CEO John Legere, who is among the most colorful and expressive CEOs in the tech industry today, has issued an apology for offensive comments that he made last week against the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) over a debate on the carrier's unlimited streaming service Binge On.
Legere made the apology through an open letter that was posted on T-Mobile's official website, though the letter also continued to defend Binge On as a service that follows the principles of net neutrality.
The Controversial Service
Binge On, which T-Mobile launched in November of last year, provides customers with unlimited video streaming capabilities through their smartphones without the risk of going over their data caps for the month.
The lineup of partners for the feature includes big names such as Netflix, HBO Now, HBO Go and ESPN, which makes Binge On the ultimate binge watcher's dream. The catch, however, is that the quality of videos being watched under the service will be limited to 480p or better, which was referred to by Legre as "DVD quality."
Legere says that the program will be beneficial to customers, but the EFF, an Internet rights group, claims that T-Mobile is throttling all video traffic down to a rate of only 1.5 megabits per second, including customers that are not using Binge On and even when there is no network congestion. According to the EFF, videos being streamed at such a low bit rate would result in poor user experiences such as buffering videos.
YouTube made similar accusations against T-Mobile, claiming that the carrier is causing interference with traffic for the video-sharing website.
"Reducing data charges can be good for users, but it doesn't justify throttling all video services, especially without explicit user consent," said a spokesman for YouTube.
The Twitter debate
On Twitter last week, the EFF asked T-Mobile if the carrier was making changes to the video streams or placing limits to their bandwidth. Legere responded through a video, saying that Binge On uses a proprietary technology which detects video streams and selects the right bit rate for the optimization of the video, taking into account the mobile device that the user is watching the video with.
"That's part A of my answer. Part B of my answer is, who the f--- are you, anyway, EFF? Why are you stirring up so much trouble, and who pays you?" Legere added, which is the statement that was deemed over the line.
Legere's "Apology"
In Legere's open letter, the T-Mobile CEO admits that in addition to being a vocal and animated CEO, he sometimes has a foul mouth. Legere claims that he does not filter himself, nor does the company do so, and sometimes he would incite riots over social media, but he will not be apologizing for such instances.
"I will however apologize for offending EFF and its supporters. Just because we don't completely agree on all aspects of Binge On doesn't mean I don't see how they fight for consumers," wrote Legere.
Legere continues by agreeing with the EFF on the importance of the protection of the rights of consumers, and the goal of providing value to consumers through services such as those offered by T-Mobile. Legere also mentioned that he is looking forward to a planned discussion with the EFF regarding Binge On.
However, the apology by Legere comes after statements that T-Mobile is an absolute supporter of net neutrality, and that Binge On does not violate the principles of an open and free Internet.
Nevertheless, the EFF has accepted Legere's apology, stating in an e-mail statement that the group is grateful for it and is likewise looking forward to the planned talk with T-Mobile regarding Binge On and its position on net neutrality.
Activating And Deactivating Binge On
In Legere's open letter, the T-Mobile CEO said that all T-Mobile customers automatically have the Binge On feature turned on, as it believes that customers should not be digging around to access new benefits.
However, for customers who, for whatever reason, would like to deactivate the feature, they are allowed to do so at any time without cost through their MyTMobile profile online, with the toggle for Binge On appearing under Media Settings.
