Comcast rose two spots in Netflix’s monthly ISP Speed Index for April, making the MSO the third fastest among major broadband service providers tracked each month by the streaming video giant.
With its April coverage, Netflix also expanded to include Canadian ISPs, with Rogers Communications, which has been the topic of Netflix criticisms over the MSO’s metered bandwidth policies. Rogers is reportedly working on a streaming service that will rival Netflix.
Word of the latest jump by Comcast comes nearly three months after Netflix reluctantly agreed to in paid interconnection deal with Comcast. Netflix has since come out against the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal and has likewise called for “stronger” network neutrality rules, labeling such interconnection deals as an “arbitrary tax” on over-the-top video service providers. Netflix’s preference is for ISPs to join Open Connect, its private content delivery network that relies on Netflix-supplied network edge caches.
According to Netflix’s April rankings, Comcast delivered an average Netflix stream of 2.77 Mbps during primetime hours, up from 2.50 Mbps in March, causing both Suddenlink Communications and Charter Communications to each drop one spot in the rankings. Cablevision remained atop with a 3 Mbps average , followed by Cox Communications’ (2.90 Mbps).
Among other monthly movers, Windstream and Frontier Communications each rose a spot, while CenturyLink Communications DSL dropped three spots, to No. 12, and AT&T U-verse dipped one spot, to No. 13.
With smaller ISPs factored in, Google Fiber remained on top with an average of #.58 Mbps, followed by San Juan Cable (3.20 Mbps), Midcontintent Communications (3.07 Mbps), Choice Cable Puerto Rico (3.05 Mbps), EPB (3.03 Mbps), CDE Lightband (3.01 Mbps), and RCN and Grande Communications (3.01 Mbps).
April’s rankings also marked the first from Netflix in many months since it added Canadian ISP results.
Among individual Canadian ISPs, two fiber-based providers – Bell Canada (3.19 Mbps) and Bell Aliant) – were tops, followed by Shaw Communications (3 Mbps), Videotron (2.82 Mbps), and Cogeco (2.78 Mbps). Rogers Communications, at 1.67 Mbps, was last on the list, at No. 14.
On a country-by-country basis, the Netherlands (3.49 Mbps average) was the king of Netflix streams, followed by Sweden (3.21 Mbps), Denmark (3.17 Mbps) and Norway (3.06 Mbps).
Canada (2.52 Mbps) was fifth, outranking the U.S.’s average of (2.33 Mbps), good for eighth. Costa Rica (1.18 Mbps) was last in Netflix’s country-based rankings for April.
