US telecoms infrastructure company Level 3 has issued a statement accusing cableco Comcast of charging unfair fees for delivering content to its customers.
The Colorado-based firm said: “Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of…
US telecoms infrastructure company Level 3 has issued a statement accusing cableco Comcast of charging unfair fees for delivering content to its customers.
The Colorado-based firm said: “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 … delivered content.”
Level 3 has agreed to continue to pay the fees under duress in a “take it, or leave it” scenario over access.
The disagreement revives the network neutrality debate in the US, which seemed to have died a death in August when FCC-sponsored talks between operators, ISPs and cablecos broke down.
Comcast said the fees were justified as there has been a doubling in the amount of traffic it was being asked to handle on behalf of Level 3, which meant it was being asked to carry five times as much traffic for Level 3 as it sent in the other direction.
However, the disagreement comes at a crucial juncture for Comcast, which is pressing ahead with its US$2bn merger with NBC Universal.
The FCC is expected to demand that the company show no preference for some web content over others, forcing the broadband provider to treat all content equally.
Comcast said in a statement to TelecomFinance: “Level 3 has inaccurately portrayed the commercial negotiations between it and Comcast. These discussions have nothing to do with Level 3’s desire to distribute different types of network traffic.”
The company continued: “Comcast has long established and mutually acceptable commercial arrangements with Level 3’s content delivery network competitors in delivering the same types of traffic to our customers.”
Level 3 was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
The FCC meets on 21 December to outline its plan for network neutrality.
