5 reasons the FCC might be wrong about net neutrality
As explained by Mark Cuban
This week the FCC passed new rules on net neutrality, which were essentially designed to limit the ability of internet service providers…
Peering
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The FCC’s net neutrality proposal is awesome, but has a loophole
It's good to be the consumer
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has taken the unprecedented and awesome step of using Title II to ensure that the internet remains open…
It’s on! FCC plans strong net neutrality for mobile and broadband
Here we go
The Federal Communications Commission plans to reclassify broadband internet providers so they can’t favor some websites over others, which is the outcome that has been…
Peering problems aren’t technical issues, but economic ones
A report out Tuesday on the cost of interconnection fights shows that the problem is the business deals, not technology, and that the consumer pays the price.
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Peering deals speed up U.S. Netflix streams, but European ISPs still a lot faster
Want the best-possible Netflix streaming experience? Then get ready to move to Switzerland. U.S. ISPs still rank far behind their European counterparts, despite commercial peering agreements.
Here’s more data on (and some solutions for) the high cost of bandwidth in the US
Understanding how bandwidth is priced can be complicated. But if you value the internet, it’s worth trying to understand how it works because large ISPs and certain business models can drive up bandwidth costs for all.
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Netflix is now paying Time Warner Cable for direct access and faster streams
Netflix, the online streaming giant, has signed a paid peering deal with Time Warner Cable, meaning that it now has deals with the four biggest U.S. ISPs.
Netflix comes to France with enough capacity to supply a small ISP
In preparation for it’s European expansion, Netflix is readying a monumental amount of bandwidth in France.
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Netflix to FCC: reclassify Comcast and Verizon so they can’t choke the internet
Netflix submitted an unusually blunt filing to the FCC that blasts Verizon and Comcast, and says the agency should use its “Title II” power to enforce net neutrality.
IIX gets $10.4M to help companies bypass the public internet
A startup that just raised $10.4 million in funding from NEA has me questioning the future of the best-effort internet. Here’s the scoop on IIX’s plan to change peering.
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Verizon’s FIOS Netflix speed tanks as finger-pointing by both companies continues
Even streams of the Netflix kids show Turbo Fast are very slow for Verizon FIOS customers: The ISP continues to decline in Netflix’s monthly speed index.
Why do U.S. ISPs want to charge for peering? Peering makes the internet cheaper. Here’s how
The practice of network peering is gaining ground, which is good news for everyone on the web except for those companies providing transit. Will that continue?
Level 3 calls for net neutrality rules to extend to all ISP activities
Even if the FCC reimposes “net neutrality” rules, consumers’ video streams could still suffer if ISP’s are allowed to impose choke points at deeper layers of the internet.
The FCC just launched its peering investigation with a call for data
The FCC is taking on the interconnection battles between Netflix and several large ISPs with a call for data. It already has the agreements between Netflix and two large ISPs.
Surprise! Cisco data says we still use a lot of broadband (mostly for video)
Every year Cisco puts out its estimates for how the internet and IP traffic will grow. By 2018, it believes global IP traffic will reach 1.6 zettabytes, or 1.6 trillion gigabytes.
Netflix to suspend its controversial ISP error messages
No more finger-pointing from Netflix, at least not within its apps: The streaming service is suspending a controversial congestion notice program.
Broadband shouldn’t be like cable TV. Why consumers should care about peering.
Peering may feel esoteric and difficult to understand, but here’s an example why consumers should care about how these interconnection fights play out between Netflix and ISPs.
Netflix and Verizon in public cat-fight over poor video quality
So who’s to blame for your lousy Netflix streams? Netflix pointed the finger at Verizon, but the telecom giant is not taking the accusation lightly.
If Comcast’s Brian Roberts thinks he’s the postman, Netflix’s Reed Hastings thinks he’s the taxman
Nobody likes the taxman. The latest chapter in the fundamental disagreement between Netflix and Comcast over who should pay for the improvement of the internet unfolded Thursday.
YouTube starts rating US ISPs, puts its weight behind settlement-free peering
Google wants you to know which ISPs provide the best streaming experience, and it wants ISPs to work with it to ensure HD-quality streams without buffering.
The FCC cares about peering fights, but how will it act?
The FCC continues to talk a lot about the importance of peering without actually making any announcements about what it plans to ensure such agreements are fair.
The problem with Apple’s peering is that we don’t know if it’s a problem or not
Apple is reportedly in talks to set up paid peering arrangements with U.S. ISPs, but before we compare Apple to Netflix in peering fights we need more information.
Comcast is now the third-fastest US ISP for Netflix streaming
Good news for Comcast customers: Your Netflix streams just got a lot better-looking, thanks to speed increases that are the result of a commercial peering agreement.
Level 3 accuses five unnamed US ISPs of abusing their market power in peering
Level 3 is accusing 5 U.S. ISPs of using their market power to limit the amount of traffic that can get on their networks, thus degrading the consumer broadband experience in hopes of charging content providers money.
Verizon inks paid peering deal with Netflix
Verizon just became the second ISP to get paid by Netflix for direct peering with the video service. This should lead to faster Netflix streams for Verizon customers, but possibly also more disputes about peering.
Netflix claims Comcast abuses its market power in peering negotiations
While the internet debates the death of network neutrality, the Comcast (S CMCSK) and Time Warner Cable merger back-and-forth continues. Sen. Al…
The FCC doesn’t want to destroy net neutrality, but it’s going to anyway
Here’s the FCC’s current plan to protect network neutrality. It hopes to create a set of rules by the end of the year, and in doing so, could open the door for prioritization of internet traffic.
Look out, internet: the FCC’s latest “net neutrality” plan is hardly neutral
Some feared the worst when an appeals court struck down long-standing “net neutrality” rules in January. New developments show why the fear is not unfounded.
The internet is going private. It’s also grown to 138 Tbps of capacity
The need for speed (and scale) is driving the growth of private networks owned by companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Microsoft. While the public internet is still larger, the private one is growing.
After settling with Comcast, Netflix takes on AT&T in peering fight
Hey, Ma Bell! Your peering policies are so lame, your fiber network is slower than DSL! That’s essentially the insult that Netflix…
Sen. Al Franken asks Netflix CEO if he thinks Comcast-TWC is a bad idea
U.S. Sen. Al Franken has written to Netflix asking its opinion on Comcast’s efforts to buy Time Warner Cable, implying that Netflix…
Comcast customers get much faster Netflix streams, thanks to peering deal
Netflix may have only signed the peering agreement with Comcast because it had to, but the results clearly show a better performance for Comcast subscribers.
As the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger process gets going, expect more talk about peering
It’s likely that the FCC will take a close look at the peering issue, and it will begin that process as part of its review of the Comcast purchase of Time Warner Cable.
No surprise here: The FCC isn’t going to make peering a net neutrality issue
Whelp, it looks like the FCC isn’t buying the Netflix and Level 3 arguments that peering is a network neutrality issue. But the agency held out hope that it might review the practice if it felt the need.
AT&T’s Ralph de la Vega thinks Netflix, not customers, should pay for capacity upgrades
AT&T’s Ralph de la Vega doesn’t want consumers to pay for the capacity that Netflix and other large video streaming services require by pushing for some type of pay-per-use broadband.
Guess what: AT&T doesn’t agree with Netflix on peering and net neutrality
AT&T should get paid by Netflix for making more interconnecting capacity available, argues the company’s SEVP Jim Cicconi. It’s just the latest in an increasingly public fight about peering.
Here is Level 3’s plan to make interconnection fees a network neutrality issue
Should ISPs be able to charge transit providers and web content companies for access to their end users? Are they actually doing this? The FCC may have to decide.
What if Netflix switched to P2P for video streaming?
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings suggested tongue-in-cheek this week that the company could switch to P2P video streaming to avoid peering troubles with ISPs. Would that actually be possible?
Hey FCC, Netflix thinks peering should be a net neutrality issue too
Like Level 3, Netflix is asking the FCC to make interconnection agreements a network neutrality issue as online video demand and the court decision gutting the Open Internet Order force the FCC to revisit how the web is regulated.
Paid peering is not a net neutrality issue but Level 3 wants to make it one
As one might expect, Level 3 isn’t happy about paid peering and the power that ISPs have in the negotiating process. So it wants the FCC to make it a net neutrality issue.
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam just took us on a tour of the next-generation internet: telco-style
February 2014 will mark a turning point for the internet thanks to a historic peering agreement and the FCC capitulating on net neutrality. Let’s let Verizon’s CEO share what the future internet will be.
Marc Andreessen says more net neutrality laws are not the answer
Comcast’s recent deal with Netflix re-ignited a debate on net neutrality and how best to implement it, with venture investor Marc Andreessen arguing that competition is what will solve the problem, not more regulations
Color me completely unsurprised: Verizon is talking to Netflix too
Appearing on CNBC Monday morning, Verizon’s CEO Lowell McAdam said his company has been discussing some type of peering agreement with Netflix…
The Netflix-Comcast agreement isn’t a network neutrality violation, but it is a problem
The interconnection agreement Comcast and Netflix signed isn’t a violation of network neutrality, but it continues a troubling precedent for the internet and has anti-competitive overtones.
What happened in Vegas: Comcast, Netflix peering agreement talks got serious at CES
The top brass at both companies sat down at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to negotiate the peering agreement confirmed Sunday by Comcast and Netflix.
Confirmed: Comcast and Netflix have signed a paid peering agreement
It’s officially confirmed. Comcast customers will likely have a better Netflix experience thanks to the Comcast and Netflix signing a direct interconnection agreement.
Sources: Netflix and Comcast have reached a peering agreement
It looks like Comcast and Netflix have resolved their peering dispute, but it’s unclear how. Comcast customers should rejoice because the quality of their video streams should get better.
Delving into the series of tubes: How internet backhaul works and why we need more
The nitty gritty details on how the deep internet works may not entice a lot of people, but those details — including submarine cables, fiber backhaul and governmental policies to encourage competition — all determine demand for bandwidth and its cost.
Netflix ISP rankings show Verizon and Comcast speeds falling
Netflix updated its list of ISP rankings Monday, and the online video provider shows that Comcast and Verizon are continuing to fall…
The FCC will monitor peering fights to ensure innovation prevails
The chairman of the FCC is willing to step into the fray on peering fights if it hurts innovation, but he’s not willing to tell us what he plans to do about the big defeat for network neutrality.
New OECD report shows that connected TVs won’t break the internet, but they will break business models
A report out from the OECD takes a look at connected televisions and what it will mean for broadband networks, peering, set-top-box makers and consumers.
In the latest battle to profit from control of the internet, the consumer is stuck in the middle
Consumers complaining of poor Netflix and YouTube streams on certain ISP networks are the pawns in a fight over internet business models. Too bad knowing why this happens doesn’t fix this problem.
U.S. cable company turns to a three-year-old startup to solve its Netflix problems
Mediacom, a U.S. cable company, has turned to Qwilt, a three-year-old startup to solve its over-the-top video woes. Qwilt thinks it can cut costs and solve the business problems of delivering online video.
Video isn’t breaking the internet: The industry giants are
Video isn’t breaking the web, the way that the web’s biggest players are trying to optimize their costs at the expense of the best consumer experience is.
Peering pressure: The secret battle to control the future of the internet
The latest fight between ISPs and over-the-top providers is taking place deep in the network, away from the eyes of regulators and consumers. Welcome to the world of peering fights.
Having problems with your Netflix? You can blame Verizon
Verizon is locked in a head-butting battle with Cogent Communications, a large bandwidth provider. The cause for these issues: Netflix, one of Internet’s killer applications that has been growing its share of the network. Bad news for Verizon customers: Netflix may not work as well.
Time Warner Cable: No, we don’t throttle YouTube — it’s all about peering
No, your ISP isn’t intentionally slowing down your YouTube or Netflix video streams. But it may also not exactly be helping to get them sped up.
Consumers are stuck between ISPs and content giants in the battle for online video
As TV viewing has gone online, the delivery of content has become fractured. With more players, there are more things to break, and it’s often the consumer that gets stuck in the middle when ISPs and the content giants like Netflix and amazon fight.
YouTube sucks on French ISP Free, and French regulators want to know why
After users complained about bad online video experiences, France’s telecom regulator launched an investigation trying to figure out if a local ISP was blocking YouTube or if it was just underinvesting in its network. A decision is expected soon, and could have worldwide repercussions.
How the internet economy works: Guns, butter and bandwidth
The internet is made of thousands of networks, and a complex web of economic considerations has developed to support the free flow of information. How bandwidth is “manufactured” and then allocated is far more complex than how a packet gets from here to there.
The internet is like the old Soviet Union, except it works
The internet has changed the world, boosted the economic fortunes of many and disrupted entire industries. And it has done so despite an interconnection model that’s built on verbal agreements with no contracts and no money changing hands. And governments should just leave it alone.
Level 3 concurs: Comcast appears to be prioritizing traffic
Comcast may have given users a break on Thursday by raising its monthly data cap to 300 GB, but Level 3, the backbone Internet provider and content delivery network, wants people to know that Comcast is still likely prioritizing its Xfinity traffic over others’.
Cogent, Sprint Disconnect Networks, May Cause Web Slowdown
Cogent Communications, one of the largest bandwidth providers in the world charged that Sprint-Nextel has severed its network from Cogent’s networks. This could cause network slowdown and decrease in web performance.
