Report: Netflix acknowledges service issues on some ISPs

Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) traffic on some broadband providers has been sluggish, but in general subscribers can still watch Netflix programming at a lower quality or with some "startup delays" at peak viewing hours, a company spokesman told The Wall Street Journal this week.

The Journal found anecdotal evidence that Netflix streams have become "unwatchable" for some Verizon (NYSE: VZ) FiOS customers and described a standoff between Netflix and ISPs over adoption of the company's Open Connect video delivery platform.

On one side of the standoff are the broadband providers; on the other are Netflix and Cogent, an Internet backbone provider, with blame for the impasse being tossed around. People familiar with Cogent's and Netflix's thinking say the cable and phone companies are delaying upgrades to existing connections, while executives at major broadband providers privately blame the traffic jam on Netflix's refusal to distribute its traffic more efficiently, according to the report.  

Publicly, Verizon's head of public policy and government affairs, Craig Silliman, told the Journal that issues will arise "when one party's getting all the benefit and the other is carrying all the cost." Meanwhile, Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer said the problem seems to be getting worse.  

For more:
- see the WSJ'report

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