FCC Will Look Into Netflix’s Peering Complaints, Chairman Says

The Federal Communications Commission will look into issues raised recently by Netflix and other companies about Internet traffic delivery, chairman Tom Wheeler said at a hearing, as he faced a bipartisan chorus of complaints about his recent net neutrality proposal.

Chairman Wheeler said that the FCC “needs to look at and will be looking at” an issue raised by Netflix about deals it has had to cut recently to get its traffic delivered more quickly to Comcast, Verizon and other Internet providers.

Content companies routinely enter into peering, or interconnection, agreements with middle-mile Internet providers to carry traffic more efficiently across the Internet so it can get to consumers more quickly. Netflix recently signed a paid deal to deliver traffic directly to Comcast’s network after customers complained about delayed videos.