A Verizon network operations team review of a...

A Verizon network operations team review of a Los Angeles customer’s complaint about buffering on Netflix while using a 75 Mbps FiOS connection “confirmed again” Verizon’s contention that Netflix’s buffering issues are occurring because of congestion at Netflix’s interconnection with Verizon’s border router, said David Young, Verizon vice president-federal regulatory affairs, in a blog post Thursday (http://vz.to/1mDnTcy). Netflix and Verizon have repeatedly sparred over the causes of Netflix’s latency issues, most recently due to messages Netflix was displaying in late spring for users on Verizon and some other ISPs blaming congestion on the ISPs’ networks for the problem. Netflix ended those messages June 16 after Verizon sent it a cease-and-desist letter (CD June 18 p7). The network operations team found that Netflix’s links to the Verizon network were congested while links carrying non-Netflix traffic “did not experience congestion and were performing fine,” Young said. Non-Netflix networks were using a maximum of 10-80 percent of capacity on their connections, he said. Verizon is “working aggressively with Netflix to establish new, direct connections from Netflix” that would fix the latency issues, Young said. A Netflix spokeswoman said in an email that “congestion at the interconnection point is controlled by ISPs like Verizon. When Verizon fails to upgrade those interconnections, consumers get a lousy experience despite paying for more than enough bandwidth to enjoy high-quality Netflix video. That’s why Netflix is calling for strong net neutrality that covers the interconnection needed for consumers to get the quality of INTER-net (cq) they pay for.” A Verizon spokesman said the telco had no additional comment.