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Comcast: Destroying What Makes a Competitive Internet Possible

Posted by Soulskill on from the have-your-cake-and-stream-it-too dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Vox has another in-depth report on the perilous state of net neutrality regulation, and how Comcast is attempting to undermine it. Quoting: 'In the bill-and-keep internet, companies at each "end" of a connection bill their own customers — whether that customer is a big web company like Google, or a an average household. Neither end pays the other for interconnection. ... ISP's typically do this by hiring a third party to provide "transit," the service of carrying data from one network to another. Transit providers often swap traffic with one another without money changing hands. ... The terminating monopoly problem occurs when a company at the end of a network not only charges its own customers for their connection, but charges companies in the middle of the network an extra premium to be able to reach its customers. In a bill-and-keep regime, the money always flows in the other direction — from customers to ISPs to transit companies. ... But when an ISP's market share gets large enough, the calculus changes. Comcast has 80 times as many subscribers as Vermont has households. So when Comcast demands payment to deliver content to its own customers, Netflix and its transit suppliers can't afford to laugh it off. The potential costs to Netflix's bottom line are too large.'"

4 of 227 comments (clear)

  1. That's why Atlanta (and other cities) ... by loony · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... need google fibre. Its the opposite extreme when it comes to performance and openness...

    Peter.

  2. Get OFF your freaking duffs! by stox · · Score: 5, Informative

    You can still change this!

    Start with filing your comment NOW at the FCC:

    https://www.fcc.gov/comments

    Click on 14-28 Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet

    Here is a sample to give you some inspiration:

    "It has become time to classify Internet Service Providers as Title II Common Carriers. The possibilities for abuse are just too great otherwise. Failure to do so will cripple the future economic well being of the United States, stifle innovation, and limit the freedom of consumers to choose the content they desire."

    --
    "To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
  3. Re:movies should not go over internet backbone by Duhavid · · Score: 4, Informative

    My recollection is that NetFlix has such caching equipment, and that they have offered it to Comcast and Verizon.
    CC and VZ did not take them up on that offer.

    --
    emt 377 emt 4
  4. Re:Sigh... by mrchaotica · · Score: 4, Informative

    How many of the average consumers getting Comcast "Hot Deals!®" realize the penalty for the deal? Not many.

    I firmly believe Comcast's "average" customer has only the choice between Comcast or no adequate Internet service at all. Other than Stockholm syndrome, it's the only explanation that makes sense.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz