Stefan Mileschin

Fears of breaking the interwebs

Netflix is cutting back on the bandwidth it takes to stream videos to members in the European Union after a European Commission member voiced concerns over network strain.

The Commission, which issued the pre-emptive warning on Thursday, wants to ensure a level playing field for all, even as it worries that crucial services such as healthcare and online learning for thousands of children may be slowed by traffic congestion.

Netflix apparently met with commissioner Thierry Breton and Reed Hastings -- and given the extraordinary challenges raised by the coronavirus -- Netflix has decided to begin reducing bit rates across all our streams in Europe for 30 days.

"We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25 percent while also ensuring a good quality service for our members."

The European Union is urging Netflix and other streaming platforms to stop showing video in high definition to prevent the internet from breaking under the strain of unprecedented usage due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Breton, who is responsible for the EU internal market covering more than 450 million people, tweeted Wednesday evening that he had spoken with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

He called on people and companies to "#SwitchtoStandard definition when HD is not necessary" in order to secure internet access for all.

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

The European Commission has warned Europe’s telecoms providers not to throttle content platforms to prevent internet gridlock caused by house-bound Europeans teleworking or video streaming due to the coronavirus outbreak.

https://fudzilla.com/news/network/50...onth-in-the-eu