Netflix launched a site late Wednesday night called Fast.com, where — in one click — anyone browsing the internet can see how fast their internet speed is. Although it’s great for consumers, some internet providers might not be happy about the new website.
Netflix didn’t invent that it’s been around
Netflix didn’t invent speed checks, but this site is Netflix’s.
Okay, so here’s why Netflix speedtest is so brilliant.
Most of us know about Speedtest.net, right? Well Comcast and Time Warner know about it too. They know customers use it to check to see if they’re getting what they are paying for. Comcast techs even tell customers to check their speed with Speedtest.net.
So, to make sure people think they are getting good speeds, Comcast and Time Warner prioritize traffic going to Speedtest.net. When you check your speed there it’s artificially inflated. That is NOT the speed you are getting when you browse tumblr and that is definitely not the speed you get when you watch Netflix.
Comcast and Time Warner can not artificially inflate the results by prioritizing traffic to Fast.net unless they also prioritize traffic to Netflix, and they definitely do not want to do that.
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