Netflix, Verizon connect over streaming

Netflix has reached an agreement with US telecoms giant Verizon aimed at improving the speed and quality of its streaming content.

The deal is the second in which the Californian subscription VoD service pays an internet service provider (ISP) to ensure its TV shows and movies stream faster, after it made a similar agreement with Comcast in February.

“We have reached an interconnect arrangement with Verizon that we hope will improve performance for our joint customers over the coming months,” a Netflix spokesman said.

A Verizon spokesman confirmed the deal but declined to reveal the financial terms.

The move comes just a month after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called on ISPs to give content companies adequate network connections for free, accusing Comcast of being “weak” on net neutrality.

Hastings called interconnection fees an “arbitrary tax” that the firm would pay in some cases to protect its customers’ experience but called on ISPs to alter their approach.

The news comes as the US Federal Communications Commission continues to consider the introduction of new net neutrality rules, under which it will permit ISP’s to charge content companies for dedicated bandwidth.