T-Mobile USA and YouTube have reached a compromise that will bring YouTube into T-Mobile's Binge On program, which reduces streaming quality but exempts videos from data caps.

The Google-owned YouTube was the most notable absence from Binge On when T-Mobile launched the program in November. YouTube later said that while reducing data charges can be good for customers, "it doesn’t justify throttling all video services, especially without explicit user consent."

But today, T-Mobile announced that YouTube, Google Play Movies, and a few other services have joined Binge On, bringing the total to more than 50 (including its own T-Mobile TV).

YouTube explained its change of heart in a blog post, explaining that T-Mobile has made changes to Binge On that make it easier for both customers and video services to opt out of the service. "The initial implementation of the Binge On program raised questions from both users and video services, including YouTube," the post said. "For instance, we didn’t think it was clear how the program would be implemented for video services that were not included in the 'free streaming' portion of the Binge On program. We also thought users needed more help to understand how the program worked and how to exercise their options."

Binge On is enabled by default and affects nearly all video regardless of whether a video provider has joined the program. Binge On throttles video streams and downloads to about 1.5Mbps, forcing the video services to deliver lower quality, typically about 480p. Video services that meet some technical requirements also get their data "zero-rated" so that customers can watch shows without it counting against high-speed data limits.

T-Mobile has agreed to make changes in response to feedback from YouTube and others. The carrier recently made it easier for customers to disable Binge On. "[R]ather than having to click through a series of menu items, users can now turn the setting off with an SMS short code and with two clicks from the T-Mobile app and one click from the my.tmobile.com site," YouTube said.

Secondly, video providers that aren't included in free streaming can now opt out of Binge On's throttling, YouTube said.

"Going forward, any video service meeting traffic-identification requirements will be able to opt-out, and T-Mobile will stop including them in the Binge On program and will no longer modify their video streams," YouTube said. "In addition, T-Mobile will now work with video services that wish to optimize their own streams, using an average data rate limit. This allows video services to offer users an improved video experience, even at lower data rates, by taking advantage of innovations such as video compression technology, benefiting T-Mobile, their customers, and video providers."

In sum, YouTube said the changes ensure that Binge On is available to users and video providers "on a non-preferential basis."

T-Mobile's Binge On is one of several zero-rating programs instituted by mobile carriers and home broadband providers. The Federal Communications Commission has been examining zero-rating to determine whether any specific implementations violate net neutrality rules.