This conversation is only futuristic in the sense that CorpNet would tell a customer about its backend negotiations – this situation already happened. Without net neutrality protections, it can happen much more often. Help save net neutrality! Call and email your Senators and Represenatives.
R: Hello, you’ve reached CorpNet customer service. My name is Robert, how may I help you today?
C: Hi Robert, I’m calling because my Netflix is loading really slow. It gets there OK but when the video loads it stays at the spinner for a long time. Eventually it starts playing but then it keeps stopping to load even after that. There’s a little popup that says it’s a problem with my internet provider? I’m not really sure what that means, can you help?
R: Ah, of course. Let me just run you through some help-steps. First, has this been happening with any other video service or any other sites?
C: It used to happen with YouTube a while back but it fixed itself.. I don’t think it happens anywhere else, some of the smaller sites I go to can be a bit slow but that’s normal these days.
R: Ok, so it seems it’s just Netflix then. That’s unfortunately to be expected right now. CorpNet recently renegotiated the terms of our Preferred ProviderTM contract, and some content providers opted to not maintain their status. That choice really wound up hurting their customers, like you.
C: Wait, what does that mean “preferred provider” – I paid for my connection right? I want to watch Netflix, what does prefered provider have to do with this?
R: When a content provider signs up for Prefered ProviderTM status, CorpNet Internet is able to provide them an even faster path to you than they had before. This is great news for those sites that deliver a lot of content, but Netflix unfortunately chose not to renew their status.
C: So.. you’re slowing Netflix down because they didn’t pay you more?
R: No, no, we’re not slowing Netflix down. Prefered ProviderTM status gives them access to even faster speeds, speeds that their content benefits from a lot. Currently they’re not enrolled in the Prefered ProviderTM program, so they get the standard tier of connection speeds.
C: So.. you’re not doing this. Netflix is..?
R: Yes! That’s the situation exactly. It’s an unfortunate bit of business negotiation that wound up affecting you very directly. We sincerely hope it will be resolved soon.
C: And the slowdown a few months back with YouTube was..
R: Yes, they had recently cancelled their Prefered ProviderTM status, but reinstated it once they saw how much better the service to their customers was under that plan.
C: So.. I purchase a subscription to CorpNet internet, but then the websites I want to go to also have to enroll in some sort of plan with CorpNet so my connection to them is fast enough?
R: Well.. no. Yes, your subscription gives you access to Internet as a whole. But! Certain sites and content providers find their services work much better with the extra speed under the Prefered ProviderTM plan.
C: So is there anything I can do about this?
R: Well, unfortunately not much unless Netflix opts to renew their status. You can try calling their customer service department and lodging a complaint. You can also try CorpFlix, our affiliated video streaming service which is a Prefered ProviderTM and therefore gets that extra speed boost.
C: I think this all sounds kinda bad.. I’m going to look into cancelling CorpNet service until you guys get this sorted out.
R: I’m very sorry to hear that, I can redirect you to our retention department if you would like. However, you may find that there are no other internet providers in your area that offer comparable speeds to CorpNet Internet.
C: Right. I feel like I’ve been here before. Thanks for the information I guess.
R: You’re very welcome. I’m truly sorry this has affected you, our customer. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
C: No, thanks. That was all of it.
R: You’re welcome, have a great day!
You Can! Internet 