Netflix today denied accusations that its content delivery system is a "fast lane" that harms competitors and that it deliberately impeded caching systems used by Internet service providers.

Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai of the Federal Communications Commission made the allegations in a letter to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings last week. Pai claimed that Netflix's Open Connect program, which installs caching appliances in the networks of Internet service providers, creates an uneven playing field with Netflix getting priority over other content. Pai also claimed that "Netflix has at times changed its streaming protocols where open caching is used, which impedes open caching software from correctly identifying and caching Netflix traffic."

Netflix Global Public Policy VP Christopher Libertelli responded to Pai in a letter today.

"Open Connect is not a fast lane," Libertelli wrote. "Open Connect does not prioritize Netflix data. Open Connect uses 'best efforts' Internet services into and out of its content caches. When an ISP asks Netflix to localize an Open Connect cache within its network, it does not disadvantage other Internet content. To the contrary, Open Connect helps ISPs reduce costs and better manage congestion, which results in a better Internet experience for all end users. Only ISPs can speed up or slow down data that flow over their last mile. When Netflix directly interconnects with an ISP, Netflix data does not travel faster than other Internet content—unless an ISP is artificially constraining capacity to other data sources."

Pai's claim that Netflix impeded ISPs' use of open caching systems is also inaccurate, Libertelli wrote.

"Netflix has not impeded the use of proxy caches by changing protocols," he wrote. "Netflix has obscured certain URL structures to protect our members from deep packet inspection tools deployed to gather data about what they watch online. Netflix is committed to, and will continue to ensure, the privacy of our members’ viewing."

While Netflix did not join a new industry consortium that's working to improve streaming technology, Libertelli wrote that "Open Connect uses open source software and readily available hardware components."