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Netflix Open Connect pledges expanded local access

June 9, 2022

Netflix announced at this year’s Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Development Roundtable its continued efforts to collaborate with internet service providers to make stories made globally more locally accessible. 

As members of the P2C Digital Coalition, Netflix pledges to partner with neutral internet exchange points and data centers to deploy content caching servers in Least Developed Countries (LDC), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) improving local access to and the quality of streaming services for over 100 million people. 

Netflix says it will aim and expect to achieve over 80 per cent of content streamed locally in these communities, reducing the cost to backbone networks, driving demand for high speed broadband, and enabling the development of essential components of the digital economy.

Thomas Volmer Director, Head of Global Content Delivery Policy at Netflix, said: “The internet is as dynamic as the people who depend on it, whether it’s used to watch entertainment or for their everyday needs. Where P2C and Netflix’ missions align are in seeing the ties that bind internet access and the content people use the internet to enjoy. Connecting the unconnected is a goal that no single organisation can achieve alone. Through our Open Connect program, a global network of servers that caches content close to Internet users – and right here in Kigali where ITU’s World Telecommunication Development Conference is held –  we deliver our content efficiently which benefits our members and our ISP partners alike. Through our pledge, we hope to make good on our aligned mission, and contribute to P2C’s objective of connecting people everywhere, empowering communities, and building digital ecosystems.”

“We thank Netflix Open Connect for its contributions to the Partner2Connect Coalition. Internet access and internet content are closely related and we need cooperation between content and access providers if we are going to connect the unconnected to the open network of networks that is the internet. Netflix’ content proven attractivity and contributions to efficient content delivery technologies make it a great partner in advancing the Coalition’s goals and empowering communities around the world,” Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.

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