[133599] in North American Network Operators' Group
Some truth about Comcast - WikiLeaks style
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Backdoor Santa)
Tue Dec 14 00:07:41 2010
From: Backdoor Santa <backdoorsanta1@hotmail.com>
To: <nanog@nanog.org>
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:07:34 -0800
Errors-To: nanog-bounces+nanog.discuss=bloom-picayune.mit.edu@nanog.org
Ever wonder what Comcast's connections to the Internet look like? In the tr=
adition of WikiLeaks=2C someone stumbled upon these graphs of their TATA li=
nks. For reference=2C TATA is the only other IP transit provider to Comcast=
after Level (3). Comcast is a customer of TATA and pays them to provide th=
em with access to the Internet.
1 day graphs:
Image #1: http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/78/ntoday.gif
Image #1 (Alternate Site): http://www.glowfoto.com/viewimage.php?img=3D13-2=
24638L&rand=3D6673&t=3Dgif&m=3D12&y=3D2010&srv=3Dimg4
Image #2: http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/749/sqnday.gif
Image #2 (Alternate Site): http://www.glowfoto.com/static_image/13-205526L/=
4331/gif/12/2010/img6/glowfoto
Notice how those graphs flat-line at the top? That's because they're comple=
tely full for most of the day. If you were a Comcast customer attempting to=
stream Netflix via this connection=2C the movie would be completely unwatc=
hable. This is how Comcast operates: They intentionally run their IP transi=
t links so full that Content Providers have no other choice but to pay them=
(Comcast) for access. If you don't pay Comcast=2C your bits wont make it t=
o their destination. Though they wont openly say that to anyone=2C the cont=
ent providers who attempt to push bits towards their customers know it. Com=
cast customers however have no idea that they're being held hostage in orde=
r to extort money from content.
Another thing to notice is the ratio of inbound versus outbound. Since Comc=
ast is primarily a broadband access network provider=2C they're going to ha=
ve millions of eyeballs (users) downloading content. Comcast claims that a =
good network maintains a 1:1 with them=2C but that's simply not possible un=
less you had Comcast and another broadband access network talking to each o=
ther. In the attached graphs you can see the ratio is more along the lines =
of 5:1=2C which Comcast was complaining about with Level (3). The reality i=
s that the ratio argument is bogus. Broadband access networks are naturally=
pull-heavy and it's being used as an excuse to call foul of Level (3) and =
other content heavy networks. But this shoulnd't surprise anyone=2C the rat=
io argument has been used for over a decade by many of the large telephone =
companies as an excuse to deny peering requests. Guess where most of Comcas=
ts senior network executive people came from? Sprint and AT&T. Welcome to t=
he new monopoly of the 21st century.
If you think the above graph is just a bad day or maybe a one off? Let us l=
ook at a 30 day graph...
Image #3: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/8917/ntomonth.gif
Image #3 (Alternate Site): http://www.glowfoto.com/static_image/13-205958L/=
4767/gif/12/2010/img6/glowfoto
Comcast needs to be truthful with its customers=2C regulators and the publi=
c in general. The Level (3) incident only highlights the fact that Comcast =
is pinching content and backbone providers to force them to pay for unconge=
sted access to Comcast customers. Otherwise=2C there's no way to send traff=
ic to Comcast customers via the other paths on the Internet without hitting=
congested links.
Remember that this is not TATA's fault=2C Comcast is a CUSTOMER of TATA. TA=
TA cannot force Comcast to upgrade its links=2C Comcast elects to simply no=
t purchase enough capacity and lets them run full. When Comcast demanded th=
at Level (3) pay them=2C the only choice Level (3) had was to give in or ha=
ve its traffic (such as Netflix) routed via the congested TATA links. If Le=
vel (3) didn't agree to pay=2C that means Netflix and large portions of the=
Internet to browse would be simply unusable for the majority of the day fo=
r Comcast subscribers.
Love=2C
Backdoor Santa
=
