Verizon: We’re Not Slowing Down Your Netflix

It's a rainy day; you're busy power loading Dr. Who on Netflix when it happens. Netflix lapses into endlessly "Loading" your next episode, without actually ever playing it. This is not a new problem, and even as broadband speeds improve, the issue persists.

Now a recent report in Gigaom suggests that the cause of your troubles, at least on one major broadband provider, is the result of an ongoing spat between Netflix and Verizon, and the story puts most of the blame on the FiOS Fiber provider.

As the story tells it, Verizon and a major internet traffic transit provider, Cogent, can't come to terms over who should shoulder the burden for all the Netflix traffic. It's a lot of traffic. By one estimate, Netflix streaming accounts for over 30% of all broadband Internet traffic.

While Netflix works with Cogent to help deliver its streams, the company has been gradually building out its own Content Distribution Network (or CDN) called Open Connect and shifting away from third-party providers (like Akamai). It encourages ISPs like Verizon to sign up for free access to Open Connect. According to Netflix's Open Connect web site, Bell Canada, Cablevision and Google Fiber already have. Verizon is notably absent from the list. While Verizon acknowledges it's not an Open Connect participant, the company would not comment on why.

Although Gigaom's story paints something of a net neutrality, bandwidth-throttling issue, Verizon has sought to clear the air and recast the controversy as "a fairly boring story" and one not about "Netflix, or about Verizon 'letting' anybody's traffic deteriorate," the company wrote on Wednesday in a blog post.

Cogent, which admits to having Netflix as a significant partner, is sending a lot of traffic to ISPs like Verizon FiOS. According to the Verizon post on the topic, this has created an imbalance between these peering partners (peering partners on the Internet agree to share equal amounts of Internet traffic for free).

"When the traffic loads are not symmetric, the provider with the heavier load typically pays the other for transit," explains the Verizon Post.

When we asked Verizon for direct comment, Verizon PR representative Deidre Hart wrote,

"Recent reports have raised questions about the performance of a couple of popular video streaming services. In response, we state unequivocally that Verizon's broadband Internet access services deliver a pristine user experience to our customers at any time of day on every day of the week. This has been repeatedly proven through independent testing by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which has conclusively demonstrated that FiOS Internet consistently delivers both download and upload speeds in excess of what we advertise. In short, our Internet customers often get more than they pay for.

How the Internet works can be complicated, and consumers should be aware of the fact that the integrity of their home Internet connection is only a portion of the streaming video quality equation. If their broadband connection is functioning correctly, the source of their frustration and the content they wish to see may be one in the same."

With that last sentence, Verizon appears to be pointing the accusatory finger back at Netflix and Cogent. Verizon's blog post is somewhat more pointed. It notes that there are solutions for these kinds of traffic imbalances that include the cloud, and Partner Ports. "These solutions are available today," the post explains, "to Cogent, Netflix and any other content or network service provider with similar traffic profiles."

Those with knowledge of Netflix's position, however, stand by the Gigaom story.

When Mashable asked Cogent why Verizon is blaming content providers like Cogent and Netflix and not its own network, a spokesperson answered over e-mail, "Verizon has a few reasons to make this claim. Verizon has a fairly large stake in Redbox, which has a video product similar to Netflix. This is a subtle way of degrading the service of the Netflix product for their customers."

It's true that Verizon partnered with Redbox parent company Coinstar to bring a new streaming service to customers: Redbox Instant.

It should also be noted that Redbox Instant's current content offering is significantly different from Netflix, which has made numerous deals with major studios and to bring a wide variety of content to the service, including many binge-friendly series like Mad Men, Dr. Who, Supernatural and Scandal. Redbox Instant is, for now, only movies.

There's also little other evidence to support Cogent's claim (one it clearly also made to Gigaom).

Whatever the real reason, the traffic imbalance between peer partners Verizon FiOS and Cogent is likely to get worse, not better, as more and more people adopt the Fiber network and binge-watch more and more classic and current television shows on Netflix.

What's your experience been like with Netflix? Let us know in the comments below which streaming services you use (be sure to include your broadband service provider) and the good, the bad, and the ugly of your service experience.

Mashable Composite: Images via iStockphoto, Pleasureofart, nickylaatz