Netflix curtails data stream in Canada
March 29, 2011
Netflix has made adjustments to its Canadian video streaming service to cut down on the amount of data it uses in a country where Internet usage is typically metered.
Netflix said its streaming service in Canada will now use two-thirds less data on average, with only a minimal impact to video quality.
Thirty hours of streaming films or television would typically use 31 gigabytes of data; it would now use only 9 gigabytes, Netflix said in an email sent to customers.
Netflix noted that this would fall well below the data caps of most Canadian Internet service providers. Canadian Internet providers typically sell monthly Internet packages allowing between 20 and 60 gigabytes.
One of the biggest providers, BCE, just dropped its plan to pass on usage-based billing to its wholesale customers, which often sell unlimited packages.