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Three customers can stream Netflix with zero data charges
The same applies to TVPlayer, Deezer and SoundCloud, on the operator's new tariff
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Is bingeing a good thing? The mobile network Three would like to persuade you it is.
Its latest, just-announced phone tariff is called Go Binge and it encourages you to make the most of your 4G connection with streaming that doesn't impact on your monthly data total.
Not for just any streaming, you understand, but for four carefully picked apps. They’re pretty good apps to choose, though: Netflix, TVPlayer, Deezer and SoundCloud.
So if you have a Netflix subscription, you can now stream it as much as you like – binge on it, you see – without worrying that you’ll hit your data limit.
Even better, the tariffs that include Go Binge are compatible with Three’s Feel at Home offering, where you can use your mobile in selected overseas destinations as if you were at home.
In other words, if you’re in Australia, the USA, Spain or a bunch of other places, you can stream to your heart’s delight with no fear of billshock.
You’ll spot that not every streaming service is here.
Three’s CEO David Dyson told me, “It is a brand new offering, the first of its kind in the UK. We know there are a lot of people in the UK with Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Prime subscribers who access Amazon videos and so on, well, this is a platform we want to build from and it needs to be an open platform to comply with net neutrality guidelines.”
He also said that Three’s customers are some of the most data-heavy users in Britain, consuming on average 6GB of data a month.
“It’s clear they love to watch and listen to many forms of content. The devices and networks have enabled people to watch when and where they wish, instead of being confined to their homes. So people can make the most of their ‘down time’ whether that’s on a commute, in a park or even on the toilet.” Which is an image to be left with.
Netflix says that when people have come to the end of a TV series they’ve binged on, they take on average three days before starting the next deep dive, snacking on standalone shows or movies in between. It’s almost like we’re mourning the loss of the series.
This new tariff means there’s no worry about the data consumption. It’s not Three’s cheapest tariff, so if you’re on the lowest price line rental, say, and this appeals, then you’ll need to move up.
But it’s another clear sign from Three that it wants to be different, and offer services that, for now at least, no one else does.
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