Netflix users across the country have been enduring extremely slow streaming rates and poor video quality lately. But nailing down the culprit is harder than you might think. The growing feud between Netflix and Internet Service Providers has gotten pretty hot recently. While reading the headlines of the latest collision between Netflix and major ISPs, specifically the recently reported slowing of Netflix streams over Verizon’s Fios Internet service, its hard not to imagine “Showdown” by ELO playing somewhere in the background.
Even when they’ve made sure to sign up for more-than-adequate plans with their Internet service providers, many customers of popular cloud services such as Netflix encounter glitches such as frozen screens on streamed movies. Indeed, in its latest update to its ISP speed reports, Netflix notes a trend of slower speeds from some providers, including Verizon and Comcast. But why? ISPs blame unavoidable congestion at various points in the network. Yet some critics believe it’s part of a calculated plan by ISPs to force content providers to pay. Getting the answer means getting the data, but ISPs do not reveal the data, nor are they required to.