These days there’s a lot of debate over net neutrality in the U.S. Should ISPs be allowed to create “fast lanes” for services that generate significant congestion on their networks? Should customers be charged for these fast lanes if they don’t want their experience to deteriorate? There are conflicting arguments for these questions.
Despite Netflix inking a deal with Verizon to ensure users don’t get throttled its monthly reports show that Verizon’s performance dipped in rankings. It even starting calling out ISPs for poor streaming speeds but it will stop doing that for the time being.
Verizon is understandably not happy about this. Several of its subscribers noticed that whenever a Netflix video stopped streaming halfway a splash screen would pop up with a message that blamed Verizon’s network for being too “crowded.” Big Red shot Netflix a cease and desist letter shortly after this gained quite a bit of attention online.
Netflix posts an official update each month about ISPs that provide the best “prime time Netflix streaming experience.” It says that the aim behind this is to provide transparency. The company says that it conducted a small scale test in the U.S. which notified users when there was a lack of capacity of their provider’s network. The test will end on June 16th, but Netflix says that it will “evaluate” rolling it out broadly at some point in the future.
The online video streaming company already pays Comcast and Verizon so that users get a smooth streaming experience. The latest figures reveal that both Verizon FiOS and DSL have slipped in overall rankings. While Netflix has made no secret of its opposition against having to pay for the privilege, its a necessary expense for the company as it looks to maintain quality for millions of subscribers.