14 DAY TRIAL // Netflix has decided to sign a peering deal with AT&T after making similar agreements with Comcast and Verizon. The purpose of the agreement is to provide users with a direct connection from the video service to broadband customers in hopes of assuring better streaming speeds for Netflix customers.
The contract went into effect on Tuesday, Mashable reports, which quotes unnamed sources familiar with the situation. It looks like the entire deal was shrouded in secrecy because there was no official announcement planned.
Following the information leak, however, AT&T confirmed the news. “We reached an interconnect agreement with Netflix in May and since then have been working together to provision additional interconnect capacity to improve the viewing experience for our mutual subscribers. We’re now beginning to turn up the connections, a process that should be complete in the coming days,” the internet provider said in a statement.
Netflix has been trying for months to make sure customers get the best speeds when trying to watch movies and TV shows after it noticed that ISPs were “stepping” on the Internet hose and only allowing a minimum speed.
Not at all surprising was the fact that following the deal it signed with Comcast, Netflix immediately noticed a spike in speeds. Verizon continues to lag behind, but it is likely that things will be better in the months to come and this will also likely apply to AT&T.
The issue with these agreements is the fact that they go against net neutrality. Since the principle is that absolutely all Internet traffic is treated the same, regardless of what company generates it, having Netflix pay for better access because their connection was throttled with is completely the opposite.
The FCC has been trying to convince American Internet users that allowing companies to sign such deals would be a good idea, but the fact remains that there is no such thing as a “fast lane” for these companies. The only way to provide faster Internet for some companies is to slow down everyone else just so there’s a difference between them to justify the extra money ISPs get from said giants.
This wouldn’t just be unfair for the customers, but also towards all the companies that can’t afford peering deals with ISPs.
Net neutrality advocates, tech companies and hundreds of thousands of Internet users have slammed the proposed set of rules from the FCC, urging the group to protect net neutrality by reclassifying ISPs as common carriers.
It will likely be a little while longer before the FCC makes an official statement on the topic.