14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of months ago, Netflix struck a deal with Comcast after the video streaming company saw no other way to get the service provider to deliver proper quality content to customers. Then, Netflix did the same thing with Verizon, another ISP that is being accused of throttling with the bandwidth as a blackmailing technique.
This was possible after a court told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it couldn’t impose net neutrality rules on Internet Service Providers because it didn’t have the legal power to do so.
Netflix’s Reed Hastings didn’t shy away from pointing the finger at the ISPs, accusing them of purposefully throttling with the bandwidth in order to get Netflix to agree to the deal. He also said that ISPs wanted to get money both from content providers and customers for something they were supposed to deliver anyway, as per the contracts they had with the latter.
This case was largely mentioned whenever the world discussed the notion of net neutrality. Had the rules that stated that all content must be treated the same been in effect, such deals as those signed by Netflix wouldn’t have been allowed. Having a company pay to gain access to a faster Internet lane goes against the very principle of net neutrality.
Even though it’s been months since then, the FCC has finally decided to intervene. The group will take a look at the streaming quality issues that Netflix subscribers have encountered on Comcast and Verizon.
“Consumers pay their ISP and they pay content provides like Hulu, Netflix, or Aamzon. Then when they don’t get good service they wonder what’s going on. I have experienced these problems myself and know how exasperating it can be,” Wheeler said.
He added that consumers must get what they paid for. If things aren’t so, then the FCC wants to know why and who’s to blame for the connection problems.
At this time, the FCC isn’t taking any regulatory steps. Instead, it collects information on the circumstances leading to the spike in complaints from Internet users in the United States. The commission has mentioned that it is unclear who is to blame right now, but it wants to look into things for the purpose of transparency, something that will surely make Netflix quite happy.
As a matter of fact, the FCC has been working on a new set of rules that would also address the issue of net neutrality. Unfortunately, in its current form, the proposal doesn’t actually cover the problem between Netflix and ISPs.