Level 3 Communications Inc., an Internet backbone company that supports Netflix Inc.’s increasingly popular movie streaming service, complained Monday that cable giant Comcast Corp. is charging it an unfair fee for the right to send data to its subscribers.
Comcast replied it is being swamped by a flood of data and needs to be paid.
Level 3 said it agreed to pay under protest, but that the fee violates the principles of an “open Internet.” It also goes against the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed rules preventing broadband Internet providers from favoring certain types of traffic, it said.
This is the exact reason that we need net neutrality. It also hits at the heart of what should be anti-trust laws. Consider the fact that Comcast isn’t only the largest residential internet provider in the country, but also the largest cable provider. Cable companies have seen a huge decline in subscriptions in recent years while companies like NetFlix have experienced huge growth. This is Comcast’s attempt to squash the competition and the Justice Department and FTC should get involved right away.