It's a common occurrence these days: you sign up for a specific level of service with your local internet service provider (ISP) and expect to get the speeds advertised. But most of the time, you don't.
Just months after publically unveiling an experimental technology that produces next-generation gigabit Internet speeds on cable networks that are already in place throughout much of the country, Comcast's impending super high-speed Internet service has officially gone live -- at least for one Philadelphia-area home.
If you're a customer of Comcast cable broadband, you might have noticed an uptick in the streaming quality of your Netflix videos - or at least an end to constant buffering and blocky video. Netflix released data showing that its bandwidth deal with Comcast has boosted average connection speeds in recent months, begging the question: Was it worth paying the toll?
On Thursday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings came out in favor of stronger net neutrality rules. Hastings supports a version of net neutrality that would help Netflix stream to customers without constant buffering - and without Netflix having to pay extra to internet service providers. But the root problem for Netflix and customers isn't the "toll" that Netflix recently had to pay for direct access - it's America's bandwidth scarcity.
