There’s a reason why Comcast is reviled among consumers who are forced, via local monopoly laws, to use it.  The customer service sucks, for one, and the company is also run with the ruthlessness and petty vindictiveness of the average Central American banana republic.  How else can you explain why Comcast charged Netflix backend provider Level 3 a toll for bandwidth use, then threatened to cut off the company’s service if they didn’t pay up?

Andrew Jay Schwartzman of Media Access Progress described Comcast’s behavior this way:  “Comcast’s request of payment in exchange for content transmission is yet another example of why citizens need strong, effective network neutrality rules that include a ban on such ‘paid prioritization’ practices. It is also yet another clear demonstration of why Comcast should not be permitted to acquire NBC Universal, given its clear tendency to exercise control in the video marketplace.”

I can understand charging users for bandwidth, but charging content providers for using your Internet system is just insane.  They provide content for users, you provide a gateway between the two, and both of you charge the end user.  That’s how it works.  Hitting up Netflix for protection money is just dirty business practice, and no name change will erase that kind of malfeasance.

Tags: net neutrality, Comcast, Netflix, Level 3, Comcast charges toll to Netflix for streaming, Netflix charged for streamed content by ISP, internet service provider charges fees to streaming video users, Media Access Project, Andrew Jay Schwartzman

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