SYDNEY: Telstra has been blaming for proving slow internet speed since the arrival of Netflix live streaming or after Telstra has transferred all the data on copper wire system.
The US video streaming giant launched its Australian service last week and proved to be a hit with iiNet customers, accounting for 15 per cent of its total consumer traffic.
But several customers vented their frustration on social media and to Fairfax Media, saying the surge in demand for Netflix has slowed their internet connection speeds.
iiNet has signed an unmetered deal with Netflix, meaning time spent viewing the US streaming giant isn’t included in monthly data allowances.
“Uggggh Internet has been unusable the last few days. Yay for unmetered Netflix @iiNet but also thanks for the congestion,” one consumer wrote on Twitter.
“Might this explain why my iiNet ADSL speeds seem to have slowed in the last week or so?,” another told Fairfax Media. “That is, there is a bunch of new streamers online, and they are clogging the system up?”
Another wrote: “the start of Netflix has also shown up the poor state of our current internet infrastructure. Almost immediately Netflix came on line, my evening business grade service slowed down so other stuff I was streaming … began having buffering issues and slowing load up.”
But iiNet chief executive David Buckingham pointed to what he called “mass service disruptions” on Telstra’s copper network as the reason some customers suffered slower connection speeds.
“We are having countless mass service disruptions on the Telstra copper network right now, so it might be people caught up in those who are commenting,” Mr Buckingham said.
“Any technical issue would quite easily affect Netflix streaming, just like any other video download.”
But a Telstra spokesman said a mass service disruption (MSD) was not the source of iiNet’s complaints.
“A ‘mass service disruption’ refers to a fault on the copper line, not the kind of congestion on a network that it is being reported iiNet is experiencing,” the spokesman said.
“We can’t comment on the performance of the iiNet network. iiNet is responsible for the end-to-end management of their network and iiNet customers need to contact them if they are experiencing problems.”
