Open Connect Delivery Network Doesn't 'Prioritize' Netflix Data, Netflix Tells FCC

Netflix wants to rest open Internet policy on a solid legal foundation, it said in an FCC ex parte filing. Netflix’s Open Connect content delivery network brings data to the locations of an ISP’s choice, “usually at common Internet exchange points or through localized caches,” it said. The filing pertains to a response to a query from Commissioner Ajit Pai (see 1412020044). Under the Open Connect program, “Netflix bears all of the costs of providing Open Connect equipment to any ISP that chooses to participate in Open Connect,” it said. “Open Connect does not prioritize Netflix data.” It helps ISPs reduce costs and better manage congestion, “which results in a better Internet experience for all end users,” it said. Netflix hasn’t impeded the use of proxy caches by changing protocols, it said. It has obscured certain URL structures “to protect our members from deep packet inspection tools deployed to gather data about what they watch online,” it said. Netflix discussed the points made in its response during an ex parte meeting last week with Pai and his staff, it said.