Monday, February 24, 2014

Comcast’s deal with Netflix makes network neutrality obsolete

Final paragraphs of a stark net neutrality reality check; for another perspective, see Inside The Netflix/Comcast Deal and What The Media Is Getting Very Wrong (streamingmediablog.com)

"At this point, the FCC doesn't have any good options. Regulating the terms of interconnection would be a difficult, error-prone process. Trying to reverse the decade-old mergers that allowed America's broadband market to become so concentrated in the first place would be even more so. But the growing power of residential broadband providers will put growing pressure on the FCC to do something to prevent the abuse of that power.
One clear lesson, though, is that further industry consolidation can only make the situation worse. The more concentrated the broadband market becomes, the more leverage broadband providers like Comcast and Verizon will have over backbone providers like Cogent. That gives the FCC a good reason to be skeptical of Comcast's proposed acquisition of its largest rival, Time Warner Cable. Blocking that transaction could save the agency larger headaches in the future."
Comcast’s deal with Netflix makes network neutrality obsolete

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