FCC Chairman Wheeler Appoints Commission Staff To Investigate Internet Content Slowdowns
Tom Wheeler, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman, said he’s going to look into the reasoning of why people are not getting the good service they pay for to stream videos such as the ones from Netflix.
Wheeler said he hates the idea of waiting for the buffering Netflix does, and he said consumers have a right to know what’s up with that situation. He said the problem with net neutrality is defined by whether or not the new season of Orange is the New Black can stream without being bogged down.
Wheeler said consumers pay their Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for service and then they pay content providers – Netflix, Hulu and/or Amazon – to get the streaming media they want to watch. However, when they don’t get the service they’re paying for, they do wonder what’s going on. He said he’s experienced the issue and is looking into it. He said he’s direction staff at the Commission to look into it, to gather information as to why it’s going on.
He elucidated that ISP’s practices of slowing content down or blocking content altogether falls under the net neutrality umbrella. It’s just another part of the Internet access that the companies – both ISPs and content providers – have raised in their disputes with each other.
He said the FCC must straighten this important matter out, especially since it’s looking at whether or not it should approve the merger of both Time Warner Cable and Comcast, and whether AT&T, which provides Internet service, can buy DirecTV, a satellite TV provider.
Netflix said it pays ISPs like Verizon a great deal of money to make sure its content is rapidly streamed to its subscribers’ devices like they expect. However, when users began to see a slew of buffering times, Netflix let them know the issue was with the ISPs, not them, by displaying a message that Verizon’s network was too crowded. Verizon threatened to sue Netflix for the message.
Wheeler said he’s not placing blame on any company right now but is trying to find the source of the issue. He said consumers have a right to know what’s going on when the services they pay for isn’t being delivered correctly.
He also said it’ll help the agency to know what merger decisions will get the nod or the boot.
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