In late February, Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) reached an agreement with Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) for direct access to Comcast’s network, with the goal of providing better quality video streaming to Netflix customers. Based on a report posted on the Netflix blog, the deal paid off.

The actual dollar amounts involved in the agreement were not disclosed, but in its blog post on Monday Netflix reported that its Comcast connection speed jumped 65% in March, from 1.51 megabits-per-second (Mbps) to 2.5 Mbps. The question about the arrangement has always been what this means down the road for other websites and consumers.

The Netflix-Comcast deal has been tied to the concept of net neutrality, the idea that all Internet traffic is treated equally. That is an oversimplification. What Netflix and Comcast have agreed to is an interconnection and peering arrangement that FCC chairman Tom Wheeler in an interview with Gigaom called “a different issue — it’s a cousin, maybe a sibling, but it’s not the same issue” as net neutrality.

The difference is difficult for us ordinary mortals to see. What we see is that Netflix paid to play, that it got the speed it needed to provide its customers with better streaming by paying to guarantee space on Comcast’s network.

Where the Internet and the net neutrality go from here is the central issue. The FCC has limited options, none of them terribly good. One would be to declare the Internet a common carrier, something the agency has consistently refused to do. Another is to regulate interconnection terms between Internet service providers down to the last comma. The solution naturally lies somewhere in between, but it is not easy to spot.

For now, though, Netflix is happy, and presumably so are its customers. The streaming video company got what it paid for.

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