Article
Where net neutrality falls down
The problem with peering, though, is that it doesn’t cope very well with heavily asymmetrical connections. Netflix, which continues to grow at a very fast pace, accounted for around 30% of the United States’ peak bandwidth consumption at the end of 2013. In recent months, as Netflix rolled out 1080p streaming to all subscribers, its bandwidth usage has continued to climb. Someone (not Netflix!) has to carry all of that traffic to the end user. Exact details aren’t available, but the basic gist of it is this: Netflix has exceeded its peering agreements with America’s ISPs, and so now Netflix’s traffic is being throttled. (Read: 4K Netflix launches: Is 2014 the year that 4K finally reaches mass market?)
One such example is Verizon’s FiOS service, where Netflix says its prime-time speeds dropped by a massive 14% last month. Verizon could negotiate a bigger peering arrangement with Netflix’s upstream provider (Cogent in this case) to reduce the congestion — but in exchange it wants something from Netflix (money, most likely). Netflix, for its part, wants to put its own streaming video servers within the ISP’s own data centers, cutting out the core network — but again, while Netflix wants ISPs to peer with these servers for free, the ISPs (Verizon, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, AT&T) want money.
Until an agreement can be reached, Netflix’s video quality will decrease as the service gains more users. At the rate at which the quality of service is declining, Netflix will probably have to cough up some money sooner rather than later. After all, its subscribers don’t know (or even care) what’s going on behind the scenes — they just know that they don’t want to pay for a crappy service.
At stake, of course, is net neutrality. Netflix argues that, if ISPs become the bullying gatekeepers, it’s the beginning of the end for internet freedom. The ISPs claim that they’re just negotiating as normal. Cynics (realists?) claim that ISPs have their own vested interests in services that compete with Netflix. In reality, following last month’s court decision that ruled in favor of Verizon against the FCC’s net neutrality rules, this will probably only end one way: Netflix will have to cough up some money.
I suspect if net neutrality ends up happening, then we'll all end up on data plans based on usage. Everyone will be charged based on data transfers by the megabyte like they do on cellular plans now. So I suspect everyone's Netflix bill will go up substantially if that happens. And the ISPs will be making out like bandits because they'll hit Netflix for bandwidth serving it up, and charge the consumer for bandwidth downloading.
Do a search on "Netflix speed problems". We're getting played on this net neutrality thing. The only people saying this is a problem are the people that are driving this and convincing everyone else that this is a problem.
"... and then I was forced to walk the Trail of Tears." - Elizabeth Warren
