[171393] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: The FCC is planning new net neutrality rules. And they could
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Owen DeLong)
Mon Apr 28 08:28:32 2014
X-Original-To: nanog@nanog.org
From: Owen DeLong <owen@delong.com>
In-Reply-To: <535E1963.9010105@vaxination.ca>
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 05:24:54 -0700
To: Jean-Francois Mezei <jfmezei_nanog@vaxination.ca>
Cc: nanog@nanog.org
Errors-To: nanog-bounces@nanog.org
> For large ISPs, Netflix provides caching appliances that can be inside
> their network, so it is not a question of transit costs. It has
> everything to do with a company that is heavily involved in TV, and
> which controls the ISP market is such a large areas of USA wanting to
> replace lost TV revenus by billing whoever is stealing those revenus.
The use of the word stealing here is offensive and inaccurate. It =
implies a
sense of entitlement to those revenues which is, IMHO, absurd.
It=92s like political candidates who complain about third party =
candidates
=93stealing their votes=94. The votes don=92t belong to the candidates, =
they belong
to the voters.
If $CABLECO wants to preserve their television revenues, they should do =
so
by providing a competitive product that is attractive to customers. If =
another
company is able to provide a more attractive product, then that=92s how =
competition
and a free market is supposed to work.
What is absolutely contrary to the public interest is allowing $CABLECO =
to
leverage their position as a monopoly or oligopoly ISP to create an =
operational
disadvantage in access for that competing product.
The so-called =93internet fast lane=94 is a euphemism for allowing =
$CABLECO
to put competing video products into a newly developed slow-lane while
limiting the existing path to their own products and those content =
providers
that are able to and choose to pay these additional fees.
Once you follow the money trail to its logical conclusion, at its heart, =
it=92s
the epitome of the kind of anti-competitive practices the Sherman act
was intended to prevent.
> In other words, they use their market power to hurt competitors. While
> the FCC is getting the news, this should have gone to the FTC because =
it
> is clearly an anti-competitive and predatory measure that proves =
Comcast
> is using its market power to hurt competitors.
This isn=92t limited to $CABLECO. While they=92re at the front of this =
effort, reality
is that if it succeeds, incumbents of all flavors will start using this =
tactic to
improve their revenues to the detriment of consumers.
Owen
