To avoid saturating the Internet, Netflix agrees to drop ballast according to Marc Burleigh, AFP correspondent in Brussels. In agreement with the European Commission, the streaming platform has committed to reduce its bit rates for a period of 30 days in all countries of the European Union, including France. According to the firm, its impact will be reduced by 25%.
As of yet, no details have been released on the concrete consequences of this decision on customers. These could for example benefit from a slightly deteriorated image quality, or be deprived of 4K (or even Full HD). It is unclear whether this new constraint will only affect the mobile Internet, or whether fixed connections (fiber and ADSL) will be affected.
A quarter of the bandwidth for Netflix
Since the introduction of generalized confinement, the French like all Europeans have had to acquire new habits, for example by using videoconferencing services in the context of their work.
As of Monday, initial fears were shared about the ability of French telecom infrastructure to hold the charge, at least for 4G. If the operators assure that the French situation is not currently worrying, this decision could relieve other European countries.
In France, Netflix is the largest consumer of bandwidth, mobilizing a quarter of the Internet’s capacity alone.
To limit its impact on the mobile telephone network, it may be appropriate to download its Netflix content overnight, in order to view it without mobilizing bandwidth. It is also preferable to prioritize calls over the Internet (using FaceTime or WhatsApp, for example) and to connect to a Wi-Fi network when possible and secure.
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