CenturyLink Still in Last Place for Movie Streaming, Says Netflix

CenturyLink lags behind other U.S. ISPs in Netflix streaming speeds during prime time, but it’s improved slightly, Netflix said in a blog post Monday about its August ISP speed index. CenturyLink’s average monthly speed increased to 1.88 Mbps in August from 1.69 Mbps in July, but remained in last place among U.S. ISPs, Netflix said. Verizon Fios and Bright House led ISPs with 3.62 Mbps in August each, followed closely by Optimum (3.58 Mbps), Cox (3.57 Mbps) and Charter (3.51 Mbps). CenturyLink disputed the methodology of using average speeds and claimed other ISPs have an advantageous relationship with Netflix. "This average does not differentiate between 1.5 Mbps and 1 Gig customers, which factors into our overall ranking," a company spokeswoman said. "This ranking also does not address bandwidth constraints caused indirectly by Netflix due to Netflix’s unwillingness to treat CenturyLink like other large national Internet Service Providers in the United States." CenturyLink hopes to establish negotiate a commercial deal with Netflix to enhance its customer experience on the streaming service, she said.