Netflix Reportedly Enters Paid Deal With Comcast To End Slowdown Standoff

Netflix has reportedly entered a precedent-setting deal with Internet service provider, Comcast, to end a public feud over the speed of streaming video.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Netflix will be paying Comcast for “direct access to Comcast’s broadband network”, which will provide much smoother service for those frustrated by Netflix’s recent slowdown.

Netflix eats up an incredible amount of global bandwidth. In 2012, Netflix was estimated to hog a 1/3rd of traffic in North America. This number probably spike last week, when 2% of Netflix’s 33 million views binge watched their new (ultra-addicting) political thriller, House Of Cards.

As one of the addicted, I can attest to the noticeable slowdown in streaming. It could take a few minutes to load up video–and I have Comcast.

“In exchange for payment, Netflix will get direct access to Comcast’s broadband network,” explains The Journal. If Netflix is indeed paying Comcast for quicker access, it sets an important precedent for the future of the Internet.

For the most part, websites have always enjoyed a practice of Net Neutrality, where all services were given the same bandwidth. However, recent court challenges threatened the future of Net Neutrality, giving Internet providers like Verizon and Comcast the opportunity for potentially lucrative new payment schemes.

Critics worry that this kind of pay-for-service will erode the meritocracy of the Internet. “Absent net neutrality, the Internet could turn into a high-priced private toll road that would be inaccessible to the next generation of visionaries,” wrote President Obama’s Senior Technology Advisor, Todd Park, about the White House’s commitment to net neutrality.

The deal between Comcast and Netflix, which has supposedly been in the works for “more than a year”, may be legally outside of the traditional net neutrality rules.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering how to advance net neutrality and it’s unclear if they’ll find a way would prevent more deals like the one reportedly inked between Netflix and Comcast. Certainly, this will ramp up the political pressure to find some kind of solution to balance network congestion and open Internet access.

[Image Credit: Flickr User Nomadic Lass]