Have your Netflix binges been a little slower than usual? While Netflix users seem pretty excited about the release of the second season of House of Cards, if you’ve been using Comcast’s broadband service to connect, you may have been experiencing throttled traffic. Netflix has been in dispute with Comcast after data was released that showed a 27% decline in streaming speed since last October.
Netflix and Comcast Deal
Now Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast an undisclosed amount for direct access to its broadband service instead of going through a third party intermediary as before. Netflix has been arguing that Comcast had degraded its traffic and that Netflix should have been able to connect to its network for free. Comcast on the other hand wanted compensation for the extreme amounts of bandwidth required to deliver streaming video.
Now that the FCC’s order for internet service providers to maintain equal routing of traffic has been struck down, providers like Comcast and Verizon are free to strike deals with companies to fast-track bandwidth to those sites. This deal might foreshadow more Netflix deals to come with other providers like Verizon and AT&T as Netflix looks to secure its future of fast streaming content.
The deal comes just days after Comcast announced a $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable that could make up to 33 million viewers across the United States into Comcast customers.
If you had to decide between a neutral net or faster Netflix streaming video, which path would you prefer?
