Level 3 has decided to take it’s negotiations with Comcast to the masses and the federal government. The issue is about the cost of delivering content across each other’s networks, or is it? Comcast claims it is a Peering Issue and the Netflix agreement has caused Level 3 to outgrow the settle-free arrangement the two have per Comcast’s Settlement-free Interconnection Policy. They feel level 3 is asking for an unfair advantage over network carriers such as Akamai and Amazon CloudFront.
Level 3 on the other hand, believes this is an issue of customer access and Comcast is increasing these fees to protect the cable TV programming they provide. In an FAQ to clarify their position Level 3 compares the issue to the 1968 FCC intervention when Bell System attempted to prevent other companies from connecting to existing telephone lines.
The FCC is discussing the issue with both parties. To complicate the issue further, the FCC is expected to rule on the issue of Net Neutrality soon. And Comcast is awaiting approval of their merger with NBC Universal.
Folks from all over have been talking about this. The Motley Fool placed the issue on the This Week’s 5 Dumbest Stock Moves, somewhat ambiguously indicating it was Level 3’s move causing the listing.
Law & Disorder lays out the issues in “How Comcast became a toll-collecting, nuke-wielding hydra”, complete with naming of the name callers.
Digital Trends also has a good overview of the week’s activity and no word on what a solution may look like. “It’s not clear how the dispute between the two companies can be resolved. For now, Level 3 is paying Comcast’s additional fees so that customers don’t see a disruption in service. However, by going public with its position, Level 3 is hoping to influence public opinion and federal policymakers into mandating “forced interconnection on fair terms”—and notes the FCC has intervened in a case where telephone operators blocked broadband subscribers from accessing VoIP phone services.”
Social Media Implications
Comcast was early to get their position out on their ComcastVoices Twitter account. Pointing listeners to their open letter to the FCC, they were not about to garner much online support.
Level 3 does not seem to be participating in Social Media. My quick searches have not found them participating at all and certainly not around this issue. That does not mean they are not ahead in the game. Underdog and all that seems to be working.
Most replies to @comcastvoices suggested Comcast should back off and make no changes to their agreement with Level 3. There are 2 groups and 2 pages asking for Comcast to stop blocking Netflix on Facebook. There are roughly 60 people likeing the pages and joining the groups. It may be the same 60. I wonder how much of this stems from the belief that Netflixs online costs will go up for Comcast customers.
Let me know what you think about Level 3’s decision to make this a public appeal to folks, primarily Comcast subscribers? How well you think Comcast has responded?
In the meantime, I’ll keep my eye on how the two are using (or ignoring) the public commentary on the social airwaves.