Demand and a cap on bandwidth for Netflix at Ohio University is slowing load times for the popular video streaming site.
Netflix has been slow to load on Ohio University’s Internet and students have not been afraid to express frustration at buffering while trying to binge-watch TV shows and stream movies through the service.
Sean O’Malley, OU’s Office of Information Technology communication manager, said Netflix usage on OU’s Wi-Fi has gone up about 20 percent more than usual levels this semester, leading to slow connection rates.
Though it’s not yet confirmed, O’Malley said that may be the reason students have had trouble accessing the site or difficulty loading the latest episode of Orange is the New Black.
“We’ve had people calling in across campus from different dorms (and apartments),” said Sean O’Regan, a student OIT worker.
In the past month, O’Malley said he has noticed a slew of students complaining about the connection problems on Twitter. OIT often replies to students, telling them to wait until after 10 p.m., when a 50 megabit per second cap on the site is lifted.
With a 50 megabits per second cap, OU is only allowing 1.6 percent of its total 3,000 mbps bandwidth to Netflix use during daytime hours, O’Malley said. After the cap is lifted at 10 p.m., Netflix takes up to nearly 40 percent of OU’s total bandwidth — 1,200 of 3,000 megabits per second, he said.
A megabit is a unit used to measure download speeds of digital information, like the data that has to be downloaded to watch a movie online. A cap on Netflix’s bandwidth means OU’s network will not allow more than 50 megabits per second to be downloaded.
Many Internet service providers, such as Time Warner Cable, the primary provider for Athens, offer speeds of 50 megabits per second to residential households.
The cap on Netflix’s bandwidth at OU, which lasts everyday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., is nothing new, O’Malley said.
“If (students) can hold off on their fix for their TV show until after 10 p.m., it’s likely to be a lot better,” he said.
OU advises setting Netflix’s streaming quality to the low setting, described by the website as “basic video quality.”
“I’ve had residents come to me (complaining),” said Trista Thurston, a junior studying journalism and a residential assistant in Ewing House. “Sometimes the Internet’s wonky, so I thought it was acting up.”
OU’s current bandwidth provider is OARnet, which serves as the infrastructure backbone for most higher learning institutions throughout Ohio.
OIT is investigating what exactly may be causing the problem with Netflix, including trying to analyze the increase in demand.
One solution may be to increase the daytime bandwidth limit, but academic usage is a priority, O’Malley said.
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