Independents ask OTT providers to decrease video bitrates until April 30

IN A LETTER to Netflix, Amazon and other OTT video providers, a trio of Canadian associations which represent smaller, independent network operators — the Independent Telecommunications Providers Association (ITPA), Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) and Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) — have asked the streaming services to decrease their video bitrates to temporarily provide relief to their members’ networks. “Collectively we have seen that OTT video services are contributing to a 20-30% increase of aggregate Internet transit over the last 7-10 days as health organizations and governments are encouraging citizens to stay home to flatten the curve and prevent the...