A Battle between Netflix and Verizon

Since early this year, Netflix have started a war of words with its Internet service providers (ISPs)- Verizon. Due to poor video streaming speeds, Netflix blamed Verizon for its “congested network and failing to provide the consistent bandwidth for Netflix customers.”¹ As a response, Verizon claimed there was “no congestion on its own network”, but blamed Netflix that it had “limited choice of transit providers.”²

As a layman of digital technology, I was unable to judge which one of them should be responsible for the stuttering streaming speed. However, from the perspective of mutual benefit and sustainable development, it was apparent to say neither of them was acting as a friendly partner. Although both Netflix and Verizon agreed that there occurred an Internet traffic problem, they disagreed on who is to blame and therefore induced a public controversy. This lasting word war not only affected their partnerships negatively, but also could not solve the problem efficiently. A good partnership should based on harmonious communication and genuine reliance.

To optimize their business relationship, I tend to recommend that Netflix and Verizon should figure out the solution for the problem together, rather than pushing responsibility back and forth towards each other. Therefore, there will be a “win-win-win situation for content providers, telcos and end users” at the same time.³

 

Endnotes:

1. Dror, Gill. “Netflix Vs. Verizon Vs. Consumer: Who Wins? | TechCrunch.” TechCrunch. Gill Dror, 6 Sept. 2014. Web. 1 Oct. 2014. <http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/06/netflix-vs-verizon-vs-consumer-can-everyone-win/>.

2. Refer to endnote 1.

3. Lan, Paul. “Verizon and Netflix Continue Battle over Slow, Stuttering Streaming Speeds.”TechHive. Lan Paul, 11 July 2014. Web. 1 Oct. 2014. <http://www.techhive.com/article/2452751/verizon-and-netflix-continue-battle-over-slow-stuttering-streaming-speeds.html>.

Picture reference:  

Retrieved from <http://www.flashrouters.com/blog/?attachment_id=8511>.

Article Reference:

Dror, Gill. “Netflix Vs. Verizon Vs. Consumer: Who Wins? | TechCrunch.” TechCrunch. Gill Dror, 6 Sept. 2014. Web. 1 Oct. 2014. <http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/06/netflix-vs-verizon-vs-consumer-can-everyone-win/>.

Lan, Paul. “Verizon and Netflix Continue Battle over Slow, Stuttering Streaming Speeds.”TechHive. Lan Paul, 11 July 2014. Web. 1 Oct. 2014. <http://www.techhive.com/article/2452751/verizon-and-netflix-continue-battle-over-slow-stuttering-streaming-speeds.html>.

Osterwalder, Alexander, and Yves Pigneur. “The Business Model Canvas.” Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010. Print.

Read more:

Netflix’s official website: <https://www.netflix.com>.

Verizon’s official website: <http://www.verizon.com>.