Level 3 Communications Blasts Comcast

[admin]

Things are heating up in the CableTV world and today Level 3 Communications, Inc. issued the following statement, which can be attributed to Thomas Stortz, Chief Legal Officer of Level 3: On November 19, 2010, Comcast informed Level 3 that, for the first time, it will demand a recurring fee from Level 3 to transmit Internet online movies and other content to Comcast’s customers who request such content. By taking this action, Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network, enabling it to unilaterally decide how much to charge for content which competes with its own cable TV and Xfinity delivered content. This action by Comcast threatens the open Internet and is a clear abuse of the dominant control that Comcast exerts in broadband access markets as the nation’s largest cable provider.


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[BoredSysAdmin]

DCMA, ACTA, COICA, Gov grabs private domain Names without court warrant, TSA "gate rapes", Patent wars, Death of Net Neutrality

Honestly I'm terrified and scared at current and near future state of IP and Privacy Laws in the US

Democracy is slowly but surely being replaced by sort of big government/plutocracy regime

Yes, call could me paranoid, but I would be scared if I were you

[Marshall_Guthrie]

The real problem is that, in many areas, Comcast is the only game in town. I'm lucky to live in a Comcast-free zone. If I were the movie industry, I'd be on this in a hurry. If Comcast blocks my Netflix, http://dvice.com/archives/2010/11/comcast-sets-up.php , my solution is not going to be to subscribe to On-Demand. It's going to be to find the movies I want through other means.

In case you don't read the above line, Level 3 = Netflix.

[zhimbo]

Nice lesson in the necessity of net neutrality.

[emorphien]

The real problem is that, in many areas, Comcast is the only game in town. I'm lucky to live in a Comcast-free zone. If I were the movie industry, I'd be on this in a hurry. If Comcast blocks my Netflix, http://dvice.com/archives/2010/11/comcast-sets-up.php , my solution is not going to be to subscribe to On-Demand. It's going to be to find the movies I want through other means.

In case you don't read the above line, Level 3 = Netflix.

In most places you don't have much competition among providers. You have Comcast, we have Time Warner. It's not a good thing.

[Marshall_Guthrie]

In most places you don't have much competition among providers. You have Comcast, we have Time Warner. It's not a good thing.

Here we have a local fiber company, I think owned in part by the city, called Minet. They treat phone, cable, and internet like a public utility for the most part, in that they consult with the city council before making rate changes. I get 5/1.5 for $35 a month. I could go up to 50/20 if I wanted, and it's real 50/20, not this burst-speed crap all the cable companies are doing: http://www.minetfiber.com/index.php?value=d001

The competition in town is Qwest DSL, which I think is just a hold over from before Fiber came to town. I don't know anyone who uses DSL.

I agree, any monopoly is a bad one, but I'll take my cheap, fast, neutral fiber over Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Earthlink, or anyone else any day.

[smurphy522]

The future is not going to be good....for this is the first big success of many such attempts. I am surprised that L3 just took it.

R.I.P Netflix

[Marshall_Guthrie]

The future is not going to be good....for this is the first big success of many such attempts. I am surprised that L3 just took it.

R.I.P Netflix

They're not just taking it, that's why we know about this at all. They're going to fight this battle in public, but L3/Netflix can't afford to impact their current multi-million dollar business for even a day.

I think Comcast just woke a sleeping giant. Big cable gets smaller every day where Netflix get bigger.

[BoredSysAdmin]

Netflix Partner Says Comcast ‘Toll’ Threatens Online Video Delivery

Stop Comcast from blocking Netflix! Petition

[emorphien]

They're not just taking it, that's why we know about this at all. They're going to fight this battle in public, but L3/Netflix can't afford to impact their current multi-million dollar business for even a day.

I think Comcast just woke a sleeping giant. Big cable gets smaller every day where Netflix get bigger.

I hope this gets ugly quick, and that this brings attention to the net neutrality powder keg for people who haven't been paying attention.

Netflix just raised prices a bit but this could only cause them to go higher.