Netflix removing bitrate throttling in Europe after two months
Netflix is to remove bitrate throttling for customers in Europe, having announced a 30 daydownscaling in streaming qualityin March to offset the increase in traffic due to the coronavirus lockdown. That seems to have lasted longer than originally stated, but a Netflix spokesperson toldHeisethat only now are the restrictions being lifted.
“As network conditions improve, we’re starting to lift the country-based bitrate caps introduced in March,” said the spokesperson. “In the past two months, we have added more than four times normal capacity to meet increased demand and help maintain the quality of our service for our members.”
Netflix had blocked the highest bandwidth streams available in all European regions, though this did not decrease the highest available picture quality. 4K streams would still work, but as a lower bandwidth stream. The company hoped this would help to reduce network strain by up to 25%.
As some European countries ease their lockdown restrictions, it seems as though Netflix is confident enough to return its service to normal.
Author: Henry Burrell, Contributor
Previously Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, Henry covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.
