Every Netflix user has experienced it at some point: the endless “buffer” screen, when it seems like a video will never load. The streaming video service has been vocal in blaming the slow speeds that cause such issues on Internet service providers, specifically calling out Comcast and Verizon by name. The ISPs, for their part, say Netflix has deliberated structured its system to shift costs onto consumers.

Now, the FCC is looking into the whole issue.

“Consumers pay their ISP and they pay content providers like Hulu, Netflix or Amazon,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement. “Then when they don’t get good service they wonder what is going on. I have experienced these problems myself and know how exasperating it can be.”

The dispute between Comcast and Netflix went public earlier this year, when Comcast allegedly allowed Netflix streaming quality to degrade until Netflix paid it for a faster connection— which Netflix did under protest in February.  Because the dispute involved a connection to Comcast’s network, instead of treatment of traffic on Comcast’s network, Comcast’s actions did not violate current net neutrality rules, according to the FCC.

By launching this investigation it appears that the FCC at least recognizes that while not technicaly a violation of net neutrality, such ISP behavior nonetheless threatens consumers’ rights to receive the service they pay for.

“The bottom line is that consumers need to understand what is occurring when the Internet service they’ve paid for does not adequately deliver the content they desire, especially content they’ve also paid for,” said Wheeler. “In this instance, it is about what happens where the ISP connects to the Internet. It’s important that we know – and that consumers know.”