Netflix is trying to gain an unfair advantage over its competitors by setting up « fast lanes » for its content, according to a Republican regulator at the Federal Communications Commission. […]
The Netflix program in question, known as Open Connect, stores video content inside the networks of Internet service providers so that the content doesn’t need to travel as far to reach viewers at home. The result is often faster service, and Netflix has urged ISPs to participate in the program by letting the company connect proprietary boxes to the ISPs’ internal networks. To date, « hundreds » of broadband companies have agreed, according to Netflix. But others, including major providers like Comcast and Verizon, have balked — leading to declines in streaming quality until Netflix started signing separate, paid agreements with those ISPs to improve service. […]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/12/03/a-telecom-regulator-accuses-netflix-of-trying-to-create-its-own-fast-lanes/