Netflix: FiOS Internet Is Actually Best For Streaming

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Netflix has re-run the numbers comparing video-streaming performance across 13 U.S. broadband providers -- breaking out Verizon and AT&T's fiber-based services from DSL -- and found that FiOS Internet clearly beats cable.

Verizon's FiOS Internet delivered 2.5 Megabits per second over a 60-day period, ending Sept. 25, according to Netflix's measurements. The video-subscription company bases the data on internal metrics gathered from network endpoints. Clustered in the 2.2 to 2.4 Mbps tier over the same period were several cable operators -- including Charter Communications, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cable One and Cox Communications -- as well as AT&T's U-verse Internet service. Suddenlink Communications averaged less than 2.2 Mbps. Unlike FiOS, AT&T U-verse is not a fiber-to-the-home network. Rather, it delivers fiber to the node then uses DSL to connect to subscribers' homes. DSL services were markedly inferior to cable and fiber-based broadband. Verizon's conventional DSL was one of the worst performers on Netflix's rankings, averaging less than 1.5 Mbps, while DSL services from AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier and Windstream ranged between 1.4 and 1.8 Mbps. Clearwire's wireless broadband service brought up the rear with under 1.4 Mbps. Netflix recommends a broadband connection providing at least 1.5 Mbps to watch movies on connected TVs and other devices, noting that "the faster your connection, the better your picture quality will be."


Netflix: FiOS Internet Is Actually Best For Streaming