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Here is the actual Cease & Desist: http://recode.net/2014/06/05/verizon-threatens-netflix-with-legal-action-over-congestion-message/ http://recode.net/2014/06/

by aresant 12y ago

Here is the actual Cease & Desist: http://recode.net/2014/06/05/verizon-threatens-netflix-with-legal-action-over-congestion-message/ http://recode.net/2014/06/05/verizon-threatens-netflix-with-...

jamesaguilar 12y ago
Interesting observation re: FiOS's performance with other video services. I'm not a huge fan of the incumbent ISPs in this country, but they do have something of a point there.
- olegbl 12y ago
  That's sort of the whole point... Lack of net neutrality leads to ISPs slowing down specific traffic (such as Netflix but not, say, Youtube).
  - jamesaguilar 12y ago
    I don't think that is how it works. The letter pretty clearly explains that Netflix uses for delivery third parties that have insufficient bandwidth to Verizon. Verizon did not -- at least according to this letter -- actively DO anything to slow Netflix down.
    - corford 12y ago
      I haven't been following this too closely (I don't live in the US) so I apologise if what I'm about to say it absolute rubbish but... my understanding is Netflix use Level3 for transit and the problem is Verizon refuse to upgrade their peering capacity with Level3.
      - mullingitover 12y ago
        Yes. There was a post on Level3's blog explaining that they have zero peering problems worldwide with the exception of a tiny group of ISPs in the US, and this group is coincidentally ranked dead last in customer satisfaction.
zeidrich 12y ago
It's interesting how Verizon talks about the "panoply of middle-man networks" when that is really the Internet. Verizon is a walled city. Verizon entices people to live in it's city and pay its rent because it says you can get deliveries from all over the world in the blink of an eye if you live in our city. It has high speed trains, and wide thoroughfares. It also has a small gate that can let a few cars in at a time. Outside the gates is another series of superhighways and supersonic trains that connect the whole world. Netflix says "We can't deliver our movies because the gate to Verizon is too crowded." Verizon says "You can't claim that, that's unfair. We offered to let you operate inside our walls if you wanted to pay our rent, but you didn't want to." The problem is that when Verizon got all of its citizens, it promised that it would give them fast INTERNET access. It didn't promise them that it would give them fast access to things on the Verizon network, or things with special arrangements that bypass the internet and use a special toll entrance to the city. There's no reason they can't widen the gate. The highways outside are absolutely fast enough to send as much traffic as they need into Verizon. But Verizon doesn't want to widen that gate, because they know if they don't, Netflix will have to pay them in order to deliver to their residents at a reasonable rate. But they absolutely don't want their residents to think that they aren't getting their advertised fast access to the super-highways outside.
- hga 12y ago
  WRT that "panoply of middle-man networks" ... it pretty much never works that way. Certainly not with a big player like Netflix, they're going to be buying from providers that peer with Verizon, vs. ones that have to pay transit fees to providers that then have peering with Verizon. The latter would make absolutely no sense in any way, technical or financial. They're also doing this in concert with AWS, right? Another huge player.

by aresant 12y ago

Here is the actual Cease & Desist: http://recode.net/2014/06/05/verizon-threatens-netflix-with-legal-action-over-congestion-message/ http://recode.net/2014/06/05/verizon-threatens-netflix-with-...

jamesaguilar 12y ago

Interesting observation re: FiOS's performance with other video services. I'm not a huge fan of the incumbent ISPs in this country, but they do have something of a point there.

olegbl 12y ago
That's sort of the whole point... Lack of net neutrality leads to ISPs slowing down specific traffic (such as Netflix but not, say, Youtube).
- jamesaguilar 12y ago
  I don't think that is how it works. The letter pretty clearly explains that Netflix uses for delivery third parties that have insufficient bandwidth to Verizon. Verizon did not -- at least according to this letter -- actively DO anything to slow Netflix down.
  - corford 12y ago
    I haven't been following this too closely (I don't live in the US) so I apologise if what I'm about to say it absolute rubbish but... my understanding is Netflix use Level3 for transit and the problem is Verizon refuse to upgrade their peering capacity with Level3.
    - mullingitover 12y ago
      Yes. There was a post on Level3's blog explaining that they have zero peering problems worldwide with the exception of a tiny group of ISPs in the US, and this group is coincidentally ranked dead last in customer satisfaction.

zeidrich 12y ago

It's interesting how Verizon talks about the "panoply of middle-man networks" when that is really the Internet. Verizon is a walled city. Verizon entices people to live in it's city and pay its rent because it says you can get deliveries from all over the world in the blink of an eye if you live in our city. It has high speed trains, and wide thoroughfares. It also has a small gate that can let a few cars in at a time. Outside the gates is another series of superhighways and supersonic trains that connect the whole world. Netflix says "We can't deliver our movies because the gate to Verizon is too crowded." Verizon says "You can't claim that, that's unfair. We offered to let you operate inside our walls if you wanted to pay our rent, but you didn't want to." The problem is that when Verizon got all of its citizens, it promised that it would give them fast INTERNET access. It didn't promise them that it would give them fast access to things on the Verizon network, or things with special arrangements that bypass the internet and use a special toll entrance to the city. There's no reason they can't widen the gate. The highways outside are absolutely fast enough to send as much traffic as they need into Verizon. But Verizon doesn't want to widen that gate, because they know if they don't, Netflix will have to pay them in order to deliver to their residents at a reasonable rate. But they absolutely don't want their residents to think that they aren't getting their advertised fast access to the super-highways outside.

hga 12y ago
WRT that "panoply of middle-man networks" ... it pretty much never works that way. Certainly not with a big player like Netflix, they're going to be buying from providers that peer with Verizon, vs. ones that have to pay transit fees to providers that then have peering with Verizon. The latter would make absolutely no sense in any way, technical or financial. They're also doing this in concert with AWS, right? Another huge player.