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Netflix is totally cool with Charter buying Time Warner Cable
Charter Communications has Netflix's support for its $55 billion proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable after promising the streaming service settlement-free "peering" through 2018. Peering, according to The Internet Peering Playbook, is a local routing optimization method that allows two networks to exchange traffic without incurring transit fees. On Tuesday, Charter reportedly filed a document with the FCC stating that it wouldn't charge any website for faster access until at least December 31st, 2018. Netflix also filed a document stating that it would not oppose the acquisition as it had last year's Comcast-TWC merger.
Researchers find new 'most distant' galaxy in the universe
Peering through the voids of space is a lot like time travelling: the deeper we gaze into a seemingly endless Universe, the further back in time we can see. Now, a team of researchers led by astronomers from Yale University and UC Santa Cruz have announced that they've discovered the most distant galaxy to date. In fact, the galaxy, known a EGS-zs8-1, is so ludicrously far from Earth that light just now reaching us from it is about 13 billion years old. To put that in perspective, the Universe itself is 13.8 billion years. That means this galaxy began forming stars when the Universe was only 5 percent of its current age -- barely 670 million years after big banging into existence.
Nevada: Email that's sent in Vegas should stay in Vegas
It was just a few days ago that Edward Snowden told John Oliver how an email, sent from one New Yorker to another, could bounce across the world before reaching its destination. This decentralization is one of the internet's biggest strengths, but the system has gotten Nevada's politicians very worried about data security. That's why Paul Anderson and Mo Denis are sponsoring a bill that would see all of the state's government internet traffic remain within its own borders.
Time Warner Cable is charging Netflix for a direct connection too
Comcast, then Verizon, AT&T and now Time Warner Cable. That's the list of ISPs that have less-than-politely declined Netflix's free OpenConnect setup, and instead decided they'll take a payment from the streaming service in exchange for connecting its network directly to theirs. Time Warner cable confirmed the deal to Gigaom, saying it was reached in June and implemented this month. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings just published an essay today in Wired as a part of its 'Save the Net" series railing against just this sort of pay-to-play system, which he's previously said undermines the possibility of strong net neutrality. The FCC has said it's looking into the deals and Hastings has mentioned that if the Comcast/TWC merger goes through, he hopes it comes with a condition blocking the combo from charging for interconnections.
Netflix cut a deal with AT&T, just like the ones with Verizon and Comcast
Almost as soon as news broke in February that Netflix had agreed to pay Comcast for a direct connection to its network, Verizon and AT&T were in line with their hands out as well. Verizon reached a deal months ago -- that so far has done little to resolve streaming issues -- and now Netflix and AT&T have confirmed that they reached an agreement in May, as first reported by Mashable. In a statement, they said the process of turning up the connections should take place "over the coming days." Netflix CEO Reed Hastings already laid out his disapproval of the ISPs and their policies, and more recently suggested that if the Comcast / Time Warner Cable merger goes through, the combined behemoth should be barred from charging for interconnects. We wouldn't be surprised to hear something similar about the proposed AT&T / DirecTV combo too, and with the FCC's recent statements on this issue we suspect things are far from settled.
Verizon insists streaming slowdowns are on Netflix
Netflix and Verizon have been playing the blame game for months, and despite an April agreement to alleviate the situation customers are still seeing low-res streams and buffering screens (the FCC says it's investigating). Today, Verizon published its own blog post to "dispel the Congestion Myth" with some data that showing why Netflix is responsible for the hangups. Comcast also put the blame on Netflix a few months ago, but Verizon has an infographic. Basically, it says that while the connections Netflix is using are overloaded there are other ways to access its network that are wide open, but Netflix just isn't choosing to take advantage of them. Netflix pointed the finger right back in a statement to Engadget (included in full after the break), citing Verizon's failure to upgrade the connections so users can take advantage of the bandwidth they're paying for.
FCC report checks if your internet speed lives up to the ads, and why that's not fast enough
Since 2011 the FCC has collected data on the wired (there's a separate report for wireless) broadband speeds US residents are actually receiving to release in its Measuring Broadband America report, and now the most recent one is here. First, the good news -- based on its data (collected from "Whitebox" devices sent to around 10,000 participants that performed automated tests during September 2013), most ISPs were meeting or exceeding their advertised speeds even during peak hours. Four that couldn't deliver 90 percent or more of their advertised rate during peak hours included Verizon, Frontier, Qwest and Windstream -- all of which can expect a letter from the FCC asking why not, for whatever good that will do. So if ISPs are delivering 101 percent of advertised speeds, why are users still seeing buffering notifications and experiencing slowdowns? [Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
The FCC is looking into Netflix's issues with Comcast and Verizon
Netflix has been loudly agitating over the last few months about deals it says ISPs like Comcast and Verizon have forced it into for adequate service, and now the FCC is looking into them. While there's no action yet, FCC Commisioner Tom Wheeler has obtained the confidential terms of the peering agreements between Netflix and the two ISPs, and says FCC staff is asking for others. At issue? Whether consumers are getting what they're paying for, from ISPs and Netflix. Meanwhile, Dan Rayburn points out that Sandvine recently posted tests where an iPad and Apple TV on the same Comcast connection at the same time got different quality, because Netflix delivered service to the two devices over different connections. As of late, accusations have flown back and forth over who is to blame for the slow down (the image above is from Reed Hasting's blog post arguing for "strong" net neutrality that would require free connections), and Wheeler says he wants to bring some transparency to the deals.
Netflix will stop 'test' blaming streaming slowdowns on ISPs, for now
In Netflix's latest ISP Speed Index, it's not only tracking how well streams are flowing to customers, but has an update on the new error messages that started popping up last week. Referring to a message during buffering telling FiOS customers that "The Verizon network is crowded right now" as a "small scale test," it says the plan is to stop the notifications on June 16th while it evaluates rolling them out broadly. It doesn't say if this is related to Verizon's cease and desist letter, but Netflix does keep insisting that it's not at fault for slowdowns, saying that it "does not purposely select congested routes." That's what Comcast and Verizon have suggested, as they negotiate deals with Netflix to have it pay them directly for a better connection. As for the May report itself there's little change, although both Verizon FiOS and Comcast speeds dropped slightly from the previous month.
Google Fiber won't charge content providers for quicker access
Irked that your internet provider is strong-arming media services into connection deals just to guarantee the quality you were expecting all along? You won't have to worry about that happening with Google Fiber. The gigabit-grade ISP has declared that it isn't charging companies for peering agreements, fast lanes or anything else that gives content hosts and delivery networks better performance than they would otherwise get. In fact, companies like Netflix already colocate in Google's spaces -- there won't be any hitches in that 4K House of Cards stream if you're using Fiber.
An 'internet middleman' calls out six ISPs for letting connections slow down
This week's update on the battle between Netflix, internet service providers (ISPs) and the companies that often carry internet traffic between them comes from the third group. Level 3 VP Mark Taylor's "Observations of an Internet Middleman" shows what it looks like from his end of the network cable while being squeezed out by ISPs seeking the direct connection deals Netflix has signed with Comcast and Verizon. Without naming the ISPs in question -- Level 3 waged a war with Comcast over Netflix traffic in 2010 before cutting a direct connection deal of its own last year -- he points out that among the company's many connected network peers, only a dozen are suffering congestion. While half of those are in the process of being upgraded, the other six are regularly overloaded, dropping packets and delaying traffic.
Netflix pays to play with Verizon, too
After Netflix reached an agreement with Comcast for direct access to its network, several other ISPs lined up with their hands out, and now there's another deal with Verizon. First reported by analyst Walter Piecyk based on a meeting with Verizon's CEO Lowell C McAdam, Netflix's Joris Evers has confirmed the deal with a statement: "We have reached an interconnect arrangement with Verizon that we hope will improve performance for our joint customers over the coming months." There aren't many details to go on, but it appears to be another arrangement for paid peering between their networks, as McAdam told Piecyk the deal was "like Comcast's." Reed Hastings has argued that strong net neutrality would let it connect to ISPs for free, but so far the (already controversial) rules the FCC is proposing don't apply here.
Netflix gets specific about its battle with Comcast and opposition to the TWC merger
In the months since announcing a "mutually beneficial" interconnection agreement, Netflix and Comcast have seen eye to eye on very little. Throw in Comcast's attempt to swallow up Time Warner Cable and grow even larger, and you have a battleground for the two to air their disagreements. Netflix put its opposition to the merger in writing with its most recent earnings report earlier this week, spurring a response from Comcast, and now a pair of more detailed rebuttals from the streaming company (update: and yet another response from Comcast, this time claiming that Netflix itself caused the slowdowns). One is in a blog post by Vice President of Content Delivery Ken Florance, and another is a letter (PDF) by Vice President of Global Public Policy Christopher Libertelli in response to questions from Senator Al Franken. Both argue that Comcast's stance that it deserves payment is flawed because, among other reasons Netflix is still the one that must transmit its data to Comcast's network, where it stops without passing anywhere else.
Netflix reportedly reaches another Comcast-style agreement, but with a Norwegian ISP
Netflix's oddly public peering agreement to connect directly with Comcast has, as many expected, been followed closely by a similar deal. What may surprise some is that this arrangement is with Norway's Telenor and not Verizon or AT&T, although the circumstances are remarkably similar. Filter Magazine points out a report from Dagens Næringsliv (Today's Business), a Norwegian industry paper, revealing an arrangement where Netflix is apparently paying rent to place its servers loaded full of movies inside the telecommunication company's datacenter. Telenor spokesman Jørn Bremtun confirmed a commercial agreement to Filter but could not reveal details, although Netflix's OpenConnect proposal suggested a similar arrangement, without payment. Telenor has recently dropped sharply in Netflix's ISP speed index (sound familiar?), and like the Comcast announcement, this new deal is drawing scrutiny from supporters of the principles of net neutrality. Telenor is held to the standards of net neutrality as set by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (PDF), just like Comcast is under the terms of its agreement to purchase NBC. Also just like Comcast, Telenor claims that charging Netflix is not blocked by those standards, since it isn't providing preferential treatment to any particular traffic on the network. Finn Myrstad of The Consumer Council of Norway echoes statements by US consumer rights groups and our post on the topic, pointing out that the secret nature of such deals is inherently troubling. There's still no word on any other similar agreements with US ISPs, but the trend appears to be firmly in motion.
No, Netflix's deal with Comcast won't destroy the internet
Sure Netflix and Comcast have jointly announced a connection deal, but what does that mean exactly? The internet's backbone, peering agreements and content delivery network's aren't things users spend most of their time talking about, but they play a huge part in whether you get House of Cards in 4K or spend the night staring at a loading screen. Internet service providers, including Comcast, have talked about extracting cash from services like Netflix, and after this news others like Verizon and AT&T wasted no time in announcing they expect similar treatment. Still, the picture of who's winning and losing may be a bit fuzzier than it seems. While the two companies didn't publicly go into specifics for their deals, sources have indicated that it includes Netflix paying Comcast. What Netflix gets, is direct access between their networks at a number of regionally located third-party network centers and -- hopefully for its customers -- consistently smooth streaming video service. As Dan Rayburn points out on his Streaming Media blog, the change here is that instead of paying another company to connect to Comcast, the company is going direct. While it sounds like a simple change, consumer advocacy groups like Free Press and Public Knowledge have quickly voiced their issues with the move, and even before this weekend end users have shown a negative opinion about reported throttling by ISPs. We'll take a look at the news and rumors to see what all sides can expect going forward.
Verizon expects to reach its own internet traffic deal with Netflix (update: AT&T too)
Many suspect that Netflix's bandwidth deal with Comcast won't be an isolated event, and it turns out that those suspicions are well-founded. Verizon chief Lowell McAdam tells CNBC that he expects a Comcast-like internet peering agreement at some stage, and that the telecom has been talking to Netflix for roughly a year about just such a thing. You have to spend a lot of money to keep the internet "vibrant," the CEO claims. The statements aren't going to assuage critics who believe that ISPs like Verizon are creating the problems by refusing to upgrade, but they do suggest that Netflix may have to keep spending cash to get the quality of service that it wants. Update: AT&T tells us that it's also negotiating a "more direct connection" with Netflix.
Amazon Silk browser spins a faster mobile web, courtesy of cloud servers (video)
Part of Amazon's new Kindle Fire pitch is its promise of Amazon Silk -- a "split browser" exclusive to the tablet that gets the heavy lifting done on its EC2 cloud servers and promises faster access as a result. Dubbed Silk to represent an "invisible, yet incredibly strong connection", it takes advantage of Amazon's existing speedy connections, and that so many sites are already hosted on its servers to speed up web access. Another feature is its ability to learn from previous web surfers and use their data to determine how to render a page, and which sites to precache on the device before you even select the next link. While mobile browsers like Skyfire and Opera have offered speed boosting proxies before, Amazon thinks its AWS prowess and the addition of "dynamic decisions" about what to render locally or in the cloud takes it to another level. Read our live blog of the event for more details, or check out the video explanation and press release after the break.
FCC looking into Comcast / Netflix blocking threat, Level 3 responds as analysts chime in
News that Comcast had threatened to block internet backbone Level 3, which is one of the companies delivering Watch Instantly streams, sent shockwaves through the industry yesterday. Net neutrality advocates geared up for battle, Comcast insisted it was only enforcing the same arrangements other networks abide by while Roger Ebert and the rest of us fretted over Netflix access. Today, Level 3 issued a response to Comcast, claiming it is "distracting from the fundamental issue" which is free use of all content on the internet for its customers. Meanwhile, Multichannel News points out industry analysts say Level 3's claims of traffic discrimination "appear unfounded" while VideoNuze editor Will Richmond supposes Level 3 may have "bid too aggressively for the Netflix business and is now trying to recover." Most damaging to Level 3's argument are its own words from a dispute where it sought financial compensation from Cogent for using too much of its network's bandwidth: "For example, Cogent was sending far more traffic to the Level 3 network than Level 3 was sending to Cogent's network. It is important to keep in mind that traffic received by Level 3 in a peering relationship must be moved across Level 3's network at considerable expense. Simply put, this means that, without paying, Cogent was using far more of Level 3's network, far more of the time, than the reverse. Following our review, we decided that it was unfair for us to be subsidizing Cogent's business." Beyond analyst opinions and posturing the question of whether or not Comcast has the power to set pricing for access to its network, creating the toll road Level 3 is accusing it of being, is still at issue. That will certainly come into play at the FCC, where chairman Julius Genachowski mentioned at today's meeting that the agency is looking into Level 3's claims at the same time it continues to review the joining of Comcast and NBC. As far as your Netflix streams? Safe for now, though the company isn't commenting, Level 3 isn't the only provider it relies on for access and how any deal it might reach with Comcast could affect the service is still unclear. Update: Comcast has issued its own salvo of PR, including a video meant to breakdown exactly what internet peering is and what it wants to charge Level 3 for, 10 of its own facts about what it is, and is not doing, and a copy of the letter it's sent to the FCC about the issue. You can them all out in full after the break.
An official server for South Africa
Here's an interesting post from what looks like a site in Zaire wondering if Blizzard will ever bring World of Warcraft to South Africa. It's true -- we all take it for granted that here in North America and Europe, the game is available, but in many parts of the world, it's not. And apparently there's a market in a place like South Africa -- Blizzard says they have about five to seven thousand players down there already (we'd assume they're playing on EU or US servers), and that probably doesn't count any of the players on private servers, which could be as many as 20,000. iGame is a division of an ISP called iBurst down there, and they say they're prepared to run an official server (within 24 hours' notice!) if Blizzard gives the OK, but Blizzard has told them that they need at least 40,000 players in the area to make it worth running an official server.There's another option called a "peering" server, which apparently does hook up to Blizzard's servers, but uses local connections and networks to make things a little faster. But again, Blizzard needs to assent to that, and it seems like they're hesitant at the moment.Oceanic realms have had issues for a long time, but at least the players there do have a chunk of servers dedicated to them. Are there any other major places in the world that don't have official WoW support yet? South America? India?
