“Netflix has agreed to pay one of the largest broadband providers in the United States Comcast Corp for faster speeds, throwing open the possibility that more content companies will have to shell out for better service,” Jennifer Saba reports for Reuters. “Comcast and Netflix made the joint announcement on Sunday, marking the first time that Netflix is paying for faster speeds in the U.S. after customers complained about slow service. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.”
“The issue is being closely watched as millions of people view movies and TV shows through streaming services offered by such companies like Netflix and Amazon,” Saba reports. “The companies said in a statement that they have been ‘working collaboratively over many months’ to strike a multi-year agreement. Netflix will not receive preferential network treatment, the companies said… As part of the deal, Netflix will deliver its movies and TV programs to Comcast’s broadband network directly as opposed through third party providers, giving viewers faster streaming speeds for watching movies and TV programs.”
“The arrangement comes as federal regulators are wrestling with an issue known as ‘Net neutrality’ concerning broadband providers and whether they can slow down traffic to particular websites, potentially forcing content companies to pay for faster Web service,” Saba reports. “The Federal Communications Commission said last week it plans to rewrite the rules after a U.S. court struck down the commission’s previous version.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jaribbs” for the heads up.]
