May I Have Your Attention Please?

Will the real shady company please stand up?

It all started with Netflix paying Comcast for direct access to their network, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, and brought to my attention via Ars Technica. [1]

“Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast for a direct connection to the cable and Internet service provider's network, a move that will improve streaming video quality for Comcast customers.” [1]

Okay, nothing insidious so far.

“Comcast Corporation and Netflix, Inc. today announced a mutually beneficial interconnection agreement that will provide Comcast’s US broadband customers with a high-quality Netflix video experience for years to come. Working collaboratively over many months, the companies have established a more direct connection between Netflix and Comcast, similar to other networks, that’s already delivering an even better user experience to consumers, while also allowing for future growth in Netflix traffic. Netflix receives no preferential network treatment under the multi-year agreement, terms of which are not being disclosed.” [1]

According to the article, this is a move by Netflix to get better service, but what isn’t discussed is the cost to consumers. One commenter had a great comment, “Great, now I get to pay Comcast twice for the same service!” What will the cost be?

Onto the second article, titled “Verizon CEO confident about getting payments from Netflix, too” [2]

That title worries me, specifically ‘getting payments from Netflix’.

“However, it is clear that residential ISPs should be in the business of charging their users for access the Internet, not of charging the rest of the Internet for access to their users. This ensures that they are putting the needs of their users first.” —Public Knowledge Senior Staff Attorney John Bergmayer.

I’m aware that ISPs are under no obligation to serve Netflix content, but they are in the business of providing reliable internet connectivity to their customers. Netflix has a website, http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/usa, that shows the speed at which their content is streamed over each ISP. I know that those speeds are not as high as they could be. We are paying for ‘high speed internet’, yet we are only getting Netflix at 3.78Mb/s over Google Fiber.

Looking at Comcast’s website, I see that one plan, Xfinity Internet Plus, offers ‘up to 25Mb/s’. Then why is Netflix being served at 1.51Mb/s?

Okay, onto Verizon. Verizon offers two services, FiOS and DSL. FiOS streams Netflix at 1.82Mb/s, while DSL is the lowest on the list, at a mediocre 0.97Mb/s. All advertised as ‘high speed internet’. Really? High speed does not mean .5 to 1 Mb/s download and 384 Kb/s.

Until more information regarding money is released, judgments should be withheld.