

Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality - Libertatea
http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2014/04/25/this-hilarious-graph-of-netflix-speeds-shows-the-importance-of-net-neutrality/

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lotharbot
I know some websites (like ESPN3) only allow you access if you're on a
subscribing ISP.

Could Netflix take a play out of that book and charge a different rate for
Comcast customers vs others, and in particular, make it enough of a PR issue
that other ISPs would be more willing to cave?

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JohnTHaller
Netflix shouldn't have caved and should have displayed a simple graphic about
the slowness in their player along with the number for Comcast support.
Displace the anger and support issues around the slowdown to the proper party,
the one that's at fault. Cost them some customers.

Of course, the problem with that is that Comcast has a monopoly in many areas
they serve. Just like Time Warner does. And folks simply can't switch. So,
even though Comcast's customer satisfaction rates are absolutely abysmal, they
don't lose customers over it.

Your solution would make more sense. Netflix should charge Comcast customers
more and itemize it on the bills as a 'Comcast Network Slowdown Tax'.

~~~
e40
As a Comcast customer I would have called and complained. If enough people
complained, it _might_ have had some effect. However, in my area, there's only
two choices: crappy DSL from AT&T and Comcast. There's really no comparing the
two services. I had the DSL offering for a few years and it was absolute crap.
With Comcast I get amazing speeds, but when service is needed, it's Comcast.
In other words, it's horrible. Here's what happens when you call them due to
an outage:

You tell them you power cycled the modem. They make you do it anyway. You ask
them to do a traceroute and they either say "I don't know what that is" or "I
can't do that" or "Yeah, we'll get to that after a few other things".

Last time I called, 20 minutes into the call he does a traceroute and finds
the problem is a few hops from my house. Yeah, he wouldn't do it it first
thing, so he wasted a bunch of time.

Sometimes, if they won't do the traceroute, they'll send someone out, in a 4
hour window, only to tell you when they get there at the problem is not near
your house. Or, the problem is fixed by the time they arrive.

It's one of the most frustrating customer service experiences you can have.

~~~
cfreeman
I agree that Comcast is horrible but you can't expect them to skip the most
basic troubleshooting steps. That probably solves the problem for most non-
technical users who call in.

~~~
e40
A traceroute takes a few seconds. 99% of the time I call it's mainly to tell
them to please track down the problem (outside of my home... only once over
the years was it my modem) and fix it. To have to wade through 20 minutes of
prelims, when a 20 second command could make it obviously unnecessary, that's
just dumb.

The fact that you thought I was suggesting skipping the basics is bewildering.

~~~
chrisabrams
I deal with the same issue on Verizon. I found that using LiveChat, the
support there seemed to be more tech. focused. If I start by sending a screen
shot of my traceroute, I usually can get what I need within a few minutes.

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chatmasta
The dependency of the Internet on a small number of ISPs is an anachronistic,
unsustainable requirement. When the Internet was first starting, they were
necessary to lay cable and maintain network infrastructure. As a nice
consequence of building the infrastructure, the ISPs got to charge for routing
traffic as well. But this makes no sense. Why should the ISP's have so much
bandwidth routing power?

Routing inherently lends itself to decentralized algorithms, and the research
is starting to catch up to the ISP's. Mesh networks are growing in popularity,
and once they reach a critical mass they will be unstoppable. Expect to see a
rise of reliance on mesh networking in universities and urban centers.

BitCoin is going to revolutionize bandwidth routing. In decentralized routing
algorithms, payment for bandwidth is a difficult problem to solve because it
depends on centralized components of the system. But BitCoin enables 1)
micropayments, and 2) distributed transaction storage, which both benefit
bandwidth routing research. Some point soon, routing will be completely
decentralized, and the infrastructure providers will receive micropayments of
BitCoin in return.

As my senior thesis, I'm researching "TorCoin," a proof-of-bandwidth
cryptocurrency mined by transmitting bandwidth over the Tor network. This
summer I am working to apply this research in a business environment. If any
of this interests you, definitely reach out to me and we'll schedule a chat:
miles.richardson@yale.edu

~~~
endersshadow
Planet Money recently did a really great show [1] about the ISP routing power
in the US vs. other countries, and what led to those decisions. The irony is
that they were doing everything they could to _not_ be anachronistic, and to
plan for the future. The US chose poorly. Anyway, it's worth a listen.

[1]
[http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/04/04/299060527/episode-...](http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/04/04/299060527/episode-529-the-
last-mile)

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DemiGuru
IMHO I think the best response to that would be for Netflix to charge the ISPs
that want to carry their service. Reverse subscription if you will. The demand
is there, ISPs would be reluctant to alienate the customers even more.

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scottkduncan
Or you know, not allowing more consolidation in the cable industry.

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coldcode
Comcast's CEO seemed to indicate that Netflix did this on purpose. Yeah,
likely.

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Gepsens
This is what happens when there is an effective monopoly and it is applied.
But seeing as how Windows roamed free for decades, the US doesn't seem to have
any problem with huge monopolies.

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morgante
I don't understand what is "hilarious" about this graph.

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ymichael
Is it me or the graph in the post doesn't say anything about actual speeds,
just their changes since Jan 2013.. misleading title?

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unfamiliar
That is the most irritating page layout I have come across yet. What is that
red bar even there for?

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imroot
"The data are from Netflix."

Really, Washington Post?!

~~~
gnoway
Is it actually wrong? Data is plural.

I kind of assumed it was one of those 'correct grammar' things like 'an
historical' that looks wrong but isn't.

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gergles
"An historical" actually is 'wrong' (for as wrong as anything can be in
English, which generally isn't very). "Historical" doesn't make a vowel sound
when read (which is the rule).

~~~
blahedo
It does if your dialect has a silent H there. A lot of people that pronounce
"an historical" do so with a silent H.

~~~
chinpokomon
Maybe not silent, but definitely muted. It's a soft "H" and probably borrows
its pronunciation from Spanish.

