Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

[LOAM]

Meh, I can't really notice the difference between 720p and 1080p anyway.

That's because your eyes can only see max 30fps

 

[Screeeech]

That's where my knowledge is a bit / lot rubish, I assume that a BNG acts a bit like a giant NAT with thousands of home broadband users aggregated via a single high performance (assume Juniper or Cisco with serious bandwidth) device which defo seems like a bottle neck. They (Youtube and Netflix) do have to play ball but definitely feel it's hars to blame them at the moment as in assuming they don't have the bandwidth to sync content, cos I think they do

Sort of,

Basically a BNG is a router, which terminates broadband subscribers from the access side, and connects them to the ISP's backbone, so this could be thousands of PPPoE sessions if it's DSL, or it could be part of a CMTS/UBR if it's cable modem.. But they essentially do the same thing - build some sort of layer-2 connection to the subscriber over something like PPP or might even be MPLS psuedowires and VLANs - then deliver layer-3 over the top.

Some BNGs like a Juniper MX960 will do 512k subscribers on one router, with the right cards.

The other factor is that it's much harder to add additional capacity to a BNG, it normally involves more/bigger routers, compared to peering/transit or backbone bandwidth. In EU and NA bandwidth is cheap - case in point, we've just added around 5-6Tbps of backbone capacity to our network, and we managed to negotiate a better rate on 100Gbps links, than 10Gbps links, so that side is easy... When it comes to BNG though - if your network is congested - it's a lot harder and more expensive to add capacity.

 

[ultralaser]

Sort of,

Basically a BNG is a router, which terminates broadband subscribers from the access side, and connects them to the ISP's backbone, so this could be thousands of PPPoE sessions if it's DSL, or it could be part of a CMTS/UBR if it's cable modem.. But they essentially do the same thing - build some sort of layer-2 connection to the subscriber over something like PPP or might even be MPLS psuedowires and VLANs - then deliver layer-3 over the top.

Some BNGs like a Juniper MX960 will do 512k subscribers on one router, with the right cards.

The other factor is that it's much harder to add additional capacity to a BNG, it normally involves more/bigger routers, compared to peering/transit or backbone bandwidth. In EU and NA bandwidth is cheap - case in point, we've just added around 5-6Tbps of backbone capacity to our network, and we managed to negotiate a better rate on 100Gbps links, than 10Gbps links, so that side is easy... When it comes to BNG though - if your network is congested - it's a lot harder and more expensive to add capacity.

Really interesting, when this COVID stuff is all over would appricate a chat over a pint to understand more about how it works, just the idea of 512k subs via one router (more used to line cards that would have a much smaller number of <16 1-10G connections lol) seems crazy. Thanks for your insights

 

[LuckyBenski]

is this going to be like that thread posted years ago by some guy who used some thermal compound and said it blew his rig up........... can't even remember where that trhread went but it was proper comedy gold.

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...iquid-pro-thermal-compound-dead-cpu.18063812/ it never dies.

 

[Screeeech]

Really interesting, when this COVID stuff is all over would appricate a chat over a pint to understand more about how it works, just the idea of 512k subs via one router (more used to line cards that would have a much smaller number of <16 1-10G connections lol) seems crazy. Thanks for your insights

S'cool man, I used to work for Juniper and have spent most of my life working for ISPs and now I work in the games industry, kinda ended up there by accident lol. Kinda solving the same problems, just 10x faster and 100x less organised than the likes of Vodafone or EE

 

[opstrat]

Is pornhub doing the same asking for palm and her five sister

 

[Yaayuh!]

That's a good idea and a commendable the move.

 

[ThundyCat]

So what, people are self isolating around europe hence the reason for doing this.

I'd be more worries about losing loved ones than 4k quality!!

 

[Stumble Bum]

It's fine they're doing this to meet demand given the situation, but it's funny that very wealthy companies like this are quick to reduce our quality by 25% but not reduce our bills by 25%.....

think of all the new signups they will be getting.

Very greedy of them.

 

[Feek]

I'd be more worries about losing loved ones that 4k quality!!

You forget that he doesn't have any loved ones and nobody loves him, so he doesn't care about anyone else.

 

[Sankari]

People still pay for entertainment media?

 

[robgmun]

It's fine they're doing this to meet demand given the situation, but it's funny that very wealthy companies like this are quick to reduce our quality by 25% but not reduce our bills by 25%.....

think of all the new signups they will be getting.

Very greedy of them.

It depends on which package you're on, there's 3 of them and only the most expensive one can do 4K, they should refund the difference for those guys but the lower 2 tears only max out at 1080p anyway

 

[Kenai]

Microsoft been suffering with their teams service.
What did they do in response?

Had widespread service issues on Monday morning, chat broke as did meetings. Even as recently as yesterday they were still reporting intermittent issues with chat, presence updating, notifications, team creation and management, meeting recording...

They've tried to reduced the quality of service in non essential areas to compensate, including things like reduced video call quality and less frequent polling for presence updates.

 

[james.miller]

https://amp.ft.com/content/b4ab03db-de1f-4f98-bcc2-b09007427e1b

.
EU warns of broadband strain as millions work from home
Brussels tells streaming companies to limit services as Facebook says managing traffic is a “challenge”

March 19, 2020 10:18 am by Nic Fildes in London and Hannah Murphy in San Francisco


The EU has called on streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube to limit their services in order to prevent the continent’s broadband networks from crashing as tens of millions of people start working from home.

Until now, telecoms companies have been bullish that internet infrastructure can withstand the drastic change in online behaviour brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.

But on Wednesday evening, Thierry Breton, one of the European commissioners in charge of digital policy, said streaming platforms and telecoms companies had a “joint responsibility to take steps to ensure the smooth functioning of the internet” during the crisis.


The EU said streaming platforms should consider offering only standard definition, rather than high-definition, programmes and users should be responsible about their data consumption.

There are worries that domestic broadband connections, which were designed to cope only with evening surges in traffic, may not be able to handle long days of adults engaging in video conferencing and children taking online classes or logging on to play games or watch movies.

Even big technology groups have recognised that they are struggling with the shifts in traffic. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, told reporters on Wednesday that the social media company was experiencing “surges” in the use of certain services, including a doubling in the use of calls over its WhatsApp and Messenger apps.

Usage is “on a sustained basis” well beyond its annual spike at New Years’, he said, adding that managing this was “a challenge". He added: “We need to make sure we are on top of this from an infrastructure perspective.”

EU net neutrality laws forbid any throttling of entertainment services, such as Netflix or the games site Twitch, but a number of telecoms executives from across the continent said there was room for co-operation to safeguard the system.

One executive at a multinational telecoms group said that companies needed to mitigate any “Fortnite frenzy”, saying: “Telcos are discussing ways to work alongside gaming businesses to make sure these events are planned for and managed, essentially flattening the connectivity curve.”

Scott Petty, chief technology officer at Vodafone, which owns both a mobile and fixed network used by businesses in the UK, argued that “peak hour” in terms of traffic now stretched from about noon to 9pm.

He also highlighted what are likely to be popular new offers, such as Disney’s new streaming platform, and movies from Universal Pictures, which are being released online to make up for the closure of cinemas.

In Italy, the first country to enact a full lockdown, there has been a three-fold increase in the use of video conferencing, which, alongside streaming and gaming, drove a 75 per cent rise in residential data traffic across broadband and mobile networks during the weekend, according to Telecom Italia.

“It is not a deluge, but it is a very large increase,” said Johan Ottosson, the head of international business at the Swedish telecoms company Telia.

The Spanish telecoms industry issued a warning at the start of the week to urge consumers to ration their internet usage by streaming and downloading more in off-peak hours.

It also asked customers to use their old landline phones for voice calls and avoid mobile networks, which have seen a 50 per cent rise in the amount of data they are handling in recent days.

It is the mobile networks that have shown the most signs of strain. Data compiled by speed test company Ookla show that broadband speeds in China and Italy have held up but mobile networks have struggled.

In the UK, telecoms executives held a conference call last Thursday to discuss a fault that left hundreds of thousands of customers unable to connect calls to people on other mobile networks. The number of voice calls had risen 30 per cent and overloaded the systems.

In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed Verizon on Wednesday to temporarily use additional spectrum to meet increased broadband demand. It has granted similar access to T-Mobile and US Cellular.

John Graham-Cumming, chief technology officer at Cloudflare, the US web infrastructure company, said that while patterns of internet access were changing, there has not yet been a significant global slowdown. “[It] looks like there’s enough capacity. Nothing to indicate that this will cause a problem,” he said.

A Netflix spokesperson acknowledged the potential issue but pointed to the existing tools it already provides to internet service providers, which allow them to store its library closer to customers, thereby easing some of the burden on the internet’s backbone.

“Commissioner Breton is right to highlight the importance of ensuring that the internet continues to run smoothly during this critical time,” the company said. “We’ve been focused on network efficiency for many years, including providing our open connect service for free to telecommunications companies.”

Netflix’s “adaptive streaming” technology also adjusted the resolution of a video according to available bandwidth in the home or local area, it added.

YouTube declined to comment.

That should put the argument to bed and before anybody mentions that cloudflair said the internet is holding up, remember this is going to get a whole lot worse as more countries enter full lock down.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

You forget that he doesn't have any loved ones and nobody loves him, so he doesn't care about anyone else.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

So what, people are self isolating around europe hence the reason for doing this.

I'd be more worries about losing loved ones than 4k quality!!

People who haven't read the article.

They have reduced all Bit rates 25%.

Not just the top tier.

All I said was they are still asking us for the same money and not a 25% discount.

Had they given everyone a month free or whatever it would have been fine but to not compensate sets a dangerous precedent for other companies to follow suit.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

https://amp.ft.com/content/b4ab03db-de1f-4f98-bcc2-b09007427e1b



That should put the argument to bed and before anybody mentions that cloudflair said the internet is holding up, remember this is going to get a whole lot worse as more countries enter full lock down.

Finally a source that isps are struggling. Fair enough. I don't like how a paid for service is the first to react.

Facebook should have been the first as it's free. Along with others. A decrease in quality in a paid for product should result in a cheaper price.

Sky updated their terms and conditions to stop people from wriggling out of contracts due to no sport on.

They have introduced a pause service which when I tried never worked.

 

[Clearcut]

Hmm...which is worse?

1) Person A is facing a couple of months with no money and no way to pay the rent or the bills or buy food.
2) Person B is facing a couple of months with very good picture quality on Netflix instead of excellent picture quality.

I can't quite decide who's worse off. A major philosophical problem to ponder.



That's more reasonable - charge them the standard rate for the streaming quality they'll be getting.

To be fair, Person B paid for excellent picture quality. Person A didn't pay for anything as they have no money.

 

[Yaayuh!]

Had they given everyone a month free or whatever it would have been fine but to not compensate sets a dangerous precedent for other companies to follow suit.

I'd be surprised if they don't compensate eventually.
Feel free to cancel your subscription if you're unhappy.

 

[deuse]

So they are really saying is that most of the EUs internet is old\crap.