Netflix rejected the South Korean firm's internet usage fee demand after "Squid Game," and other hits from the streaming platform increased its data traffic.
A shopper takes pictures with cosplayers dressed in outfits from the Netflix series "Squid Game" at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur on October 20, 2021.
Netflix Rejects South Korean Firm's Internet Fee Demand
As per Strait Times, the latest push back from the United States-based giant streaming platform further mentioned that the imposition of additional fees could discourage other rivals, including Disney and Amazon, from investing in the Asian country.
In hindsight, a South Korean internet service provider called SK Broadband took Netflix to court to collect fees from the streaming service giant for its excessive network usage in the country.
According to the report by LightReading, the video president for global public policy of Netflix, said in its latest statement that the streaming service was "simply making its shows and film available on the internet to Korean customers."
The Netflix logo is seen on the Netflix, Inc. building on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California on October 19, 2021. - Netflix reported billion-dollar profits and booming subscriber growth on October 19 that beat forecasts as global hits like Squid Game drew viewers in droves.
The Netflix exec further noted that the customers of the said internet service provider are already paying for the internet that they are using to stream the content on the streaming platform.
Netflix went on to argue that the demand to pay for network usage fees would only promote both an "unfair" and "anti-competitive environment."
On top of that, the US streaming giant also predicted that if ever SK Broadband did impose internet usage fees, other internet service providers in the country would likely follow in its footsteps.
What's more, other regions that also receive additional data usage due to the increasing content consumption from streaming platforms like Netflix could also do the same mandate.
Although Netflix admitted that the effect of the usage fees remains to be seen, it could possibly balloon "exponentially" as time goes by, the vice president of Public Policy of the US steaming giant, Dean Garfield, told Bloomberg in a separate report.
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Netflix and SK Broadband Internet Usage
SK Broadband sued Netflix at the beginning of October after the drama series, "Squid Game," saw a steep uptick in views on the streaming platform, causing more data usage from the service provider.
To be precise, the internet subsidiary of SK Telecom complained to the Korean court that its network traffic caused by Netflix has significantly increased by 24 times when compared to its May 2018 data.
The internet operator further claimed that SK had to do two network upgrades due to the increasing data usage from their users, which is attributed to Netflix.
From the estimate of SK Broadband, Netflix needs to pay them a hefty internet fee of $23 million, which could be an added cost from the $1 billion that the streaming service has already spent to develop content in the country.
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Written by Teejay Boris
