THIS is why you want network neutrality.

Comcast has three business lines: video, phone, and internet.

Really, though, they all get delivered over the same networks, which they own and operate over various municipal rights-of-way.

Comcast is telling Level 3 (a major internet operating company) that if any of L3's customers want to send video over the internet to Comcast's customers, L3 will have to pay extra for that.

That's NOT "send video to our cable subscribers". That's Hulu and Vimeo and YouTube and ComedyCentral.com and your video-conferencing system and anything new that gets developed if they're an L3 customer. But what it mostly is, is NetFlix, who is definitely an L3 customer.

I'm not a huge fan of L3 (nor am I especially displeased with them.) I generally don't like Comcast. Take that as you will.

IF Comcast had said to L3 "we want to charge you for exchanging all traffic", I would shrug and leave them be.

Singling out a type of traffic is bad bad with a side order of wrongsauce. It leads to all sorts of evil shenanigans that eventually conclude with some bits being cheap and other bits being expensive, even though they are all bits. It can lead to the situation with airlines, where every seat on a plane may have cost differently, even though every seat is the same. I don't like that much.

Comcast certainly believes it will bring them more money.

THIS is why you want network neutrality.

Comcast has three business lines: video, phone, and internet.

Really, though, they all get delivered over the same networks, which they own and operate over various municipal rights-of-way.

Comcast is telling Level 3 (a major internet operating company) that if any of L3's customers want to send video over the internet to Comcast's customers, L3 will have to pay extra for that.

That's NOT "send video to our cable subscribers". That's Hulu and Vimeo and YouTube and ComedyCentral.com and your video-conferencing system and anything new that gets developed if they're an L3 customer. But what it mostly is, is NetFlix, who is definitely an L3 customer.

I'm not a huge fan of L3 (nor am I especially displeased with them.) I generally don't like Comcast. Take that as you will.

IF Comcast had said to L3 "we want to charge you for exchanging all traffic", I would shrug and leave them be.

Singling out a type of traffic is bad bad with a side order of wrongsauce. It leads to all sorts of evil shenanigans that eventually conclude with some bits being cheap and other bits being expensive, even though they are all bits. It can lead to the situation with airlines, where every seat on a plane may have cost differently, even though every seat is the same. I don't like that much.

Comcast certainly believes it will bring them more money.