Telefónica, Netflix network row rumbles on


Details

Juan Fernandez Gonzalez

| 23 November 2015




A resolution to the enduring problems experienced by Netflix users over the Telefónica network seems as far away as ever.



In order to optimise quality of service, the American subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform has reached peering agreements with most telcos in Spain, including Orange and Vodafone.

Moreover, such traffic improvements are being offered free of charge; something that Telefónica has flatly refused to do.

The peering agreements, which will in fact give Netflix access to Telefónica's Movistar network in Spain, should result in mutual benefits as capacity for large amounts of traffic increases and the network performance improves.

As an example, according to a user report, the regular Movistar connection from a 300Mbps fibre network delivered a speed of 2.300Mbps at the end server in the US, while the same network using a VPN service delivered 80Mbps. The first is not enough to support even HD content, while the second is enough to stream 4K.

But for the moment Telefónica wants to put pressure on Netflix and force the service to accept its conditions.

For now, the situation is resulting in nothing more than brand damage for Telefónica, as Movistar's subs are increasingly complaining about the performance of Netflix's on their networks. No comment has been made by Netflix on the situation.