Netflix Agrees to Pay Comcast to End Traffic Jam

[The Straight Story]

Netflix Agrees to Pay Comcast to End Traffic Jam
Deal Ends Standoff Over Streaming, Would Give Netflix Direct Access to Comcast Systems

Updated Feb. 23, 2014 12:16 p.m. ET

Netflix Inc. has agreed to pay Comcast Corp. to ensure Netflix movies and TV shows stream smoothly to Comcast customers, a landmark agreement that could set a precedent for Netflix's dealings with other broadband providers, people familiar with the situation said.

In exchange for payment, Netflix will get direct access to Comcast's broadband network, the people said. The multiyear deal comes just 10 days after Comcast agreed to buy...

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304834704579401071892041790

[DontTreadOnMe]

1. So Comcast gets to decide which of your "views" on the internet should cost more than others

Maybe they might start charging extra to view DU.

[The Straight Story]

3. Some more info from elsewhere:

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/netflix-may-have-gained-direct-connection-to-comcast-network/


Netflix may have gained direct connection to Comcast network
Video quality could improve if Netflix and Comcast settle their differences.

by Jon Brodkin - Feb 21 2014, 5:53pm EST


Netflix and Comcast may have made peace with each other. If they have, that could be good news for users who are frustrated with poor performance of Netflix video on Comcast's network.

App.net co-founder Bryan Berg today posted a traceroute on Github, saying it shows that "Comcast and Netflix now have a direct adjacency."

"Looked at the host serving my Netflix streams today and noticed something new," he wrote. "No clue if money is changing hands or not, and the return path is what actually matters, but it appears that Comcast and Netflix have reached some sort of agreement regarding direct interconnection."

The traceroute shows that all of the IP addresses the traffic is flowing through are assigned to either Comcast or Netflix:

[IDemo]

2. Why does this story make me think of orange cones and bridges? n/t

[El_Johns]

6. +1

[one_voice]

4. I have Verizon Fios...

and you can barely watch a movie anymore.

A tech from Verizon told me they were causing the problem because of the dispute with Netflix.

He told me it would cost customers .15 cents to correct the problem.

Both of them Netflix & Verizon's thought process...fuck the customer we want more money.

[alinux]

5. Who will pay for this !?

And how is going to pay for this ? All operating costs are covered by the end-user, so down the road expect a surge in Netflix rates, I did mention this before I used VPN as per http://thevpn.guru/netflix-streaming-problems-verizon/ to overcome streaming problems, what I did not know what that I will get get Canadian and UK sites to work in return, so if Netflix raises it's charges I will ditch it in favor of those sites.

[vi5]

7. I'm sure the FCC won't allow this (wink, wink)...

Because the head of the FCC is for net neutrality (wink, wink....nudge, nudge).

And if he does allow this, then it most definitely is not because whoever appointed him didn't make it known and clear that net neutrality would and should be a priority because the person who appointed him is definitely in favor of net neutrality (wink, wink).

Same thing with the Comcast/Time Warner merger and all the FCC/SEC approvals that are needed for that.

[TheKentuckian]

8. Silly Netflix, paying when there was no problem. That was what the word from the defenders, right?

Everyone complaining had bad router settings or something, right?