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steve2470

(37,457 posts)
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 02:46 PM Mar 2014

Netflix Just Opened the Door to Paying ISPs More Access Fees

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-21/netflix-just-opened-the-door-to-paying-isps-more-access-fees?google_editors_picks=true

Netflix (NFLX) Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings is seeking your help to keep Internet service providers from charging higher fees to stream all the video its customers watch. In the process, he may have just opened his wallet to any Cox, Time Warner Cable (TWC), Verizon Communications (VZ), or AT&T (T) across the nation.

In a blog post on Thursday, Hastings said the company’s recent decision to pay Comcast (CMCSA) millions in access fees arose from a degradation of the cable provider’s handling of Netflix data. That led to streaming glitches and other problems for Netflix customers, a situation that has also been reported by Verizon’s FiOS customers. After its payment to Comcast last month, Hastings wrote, “our members are now getting a good experience again.”

However, in the process of agitating for new, tougher net-neutrality rules, Hastings may have validated that same strategy for other ISPs: Throttle Netflix streaming until it’s unwatchable, and wait for the video service to write you a check. Net neutrality means that the companies controlling the infrastructure of the Internet can’t treat different kinds of Web activity differently. “Netflix believes strong net neutrality is critical, but in the near term we will in cases pay the toll to the powerful ISPs to protect our consumer experience,” Hastings wrote.

Given the tone of the post—and the issue’s high profile in Washington—Comcast responded swiftly, saying that companies such as Netflix “have always paid for their interconnection to the Internet” and can guarantee good performance for a fair price. “We are happy that Comcast and Netflix were able to reach an amicable, market-based solution to our interconnection issues and believe that our agreement demonstrates the effectiveness of the market as a mechanism to deal with these matters,” Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen said.
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Netflix Just Opened the Door to Paying ISPs More Access Fees (Original Post) steve2470 Mar 2014 OP
If he really believed in net neutrality he should have fought it lostincalifornia Mar 2014 #1
Fucking ridiculous. Fantastic Anarchist Mar 2014 #2
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