Is Centurylink "throttling" Youtube ala Netflix/Verizon?

1 pointskfcm12y ago3 comments

All day today, all Youtube videos have been refusing to play for me on two Centurylink connections. However, they play fine via three other network providers--both direct connect and via VPN.

One laptop has been used on all direct and vpn connections, an Android tablet on each direct connection, and a desktop on one direct and vpn connection. Chrome and Firefox both used. The common denominator is Centurylink.

So the question arises, is Centurylink now following Verizon's lead, and beginning to "throttle" high-bandwidth sites?

3 comments

3 comments · 1 top-level

rnovak12y ago· 2 in thread

I think it's google TBH. The thing I always notice about YouTube is that the ads are NEVER slowed or impaired by throttling in any capacity. It could be peak time and ads will play at 1080p, but get to the video and they are crippled to 480p or less.

kfcmOP12y ago

Possible. But why does the problem only happen on direct Centurylink connections? I've failed on a direct connection, and fired up the VPN for success. There are ways to cause this (routing issues, filtering, etc), but one IP network tried is static.

rnovak12y ago

I've tried VPN'ing as well, which affected my speeds for Netflix, HBOGO (which is stupid considering I pay centuryLink for HBO), and Amazon, but it has never affected my YouTube experience.

I've also noticed it's heavily dependant on the video you're trying to watch. Something sponsored by Vevo, and you probably won't have any issues, but something indy? good luck.

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