The Huffington Post front page, the AP, and the New York Times are reporting developing details about the big news that broke last night: Comcast will essentially block Netflix unless a new fee is paid to Comcast -- so Netflix's price goes up and people use Comcast's video service instead.
This outrageous abuse of power by Comcast comes on the very week that President Obama's FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will announce whether he'll fulfill Obama's promise to protect the open Internet and Net Neutrality -- which would prevent this type of corporate abuse.
The FCC needs to hear from the public right now, before the chairman's big announcement this week. Within hours, over 40,000 50,000 60,000 people have signed this emergency petition from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee:
We'll deliver these signatures to the FCC this week. Sign here.
What else could Comcast do if the FCC doesn't protect Net Neutrality?
Internet providers like Comcast can drive their financial competitors (or political opponents) out of business by charging them more, for no good reason -- exactly what's happening right now.
For instance, Comcast could block or degrade iTunes, which competes with Comcast's own online music store.
Worse, the FCC will soon decide whether to allow Comcast to buy NBC! Not only would this bad actor become Keith Olbermann's boss, but can you imagine what Comcast will do to block customers from getting video from ABC, CBS, and other media outlets like the Huffington Post? This is way more serious than just movies -- the FCC's decision impacts pretty much everything.
Thanks for paying attention to this important issue.
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I'm all for net-neutrality, but this particular dispute has nothing to do with it.
1. Cable markets are regulated LOCALLY, not by the Federal government.
2. Cable TV has HUGE start-up costs in terms of required infrastructure (paying programming providers, setting antennas, laying down cable). So most localities had to give concessions to cable companies to get them to make those investements....and they represent a HUGE barrier to anyone else coming into a market as a competitor.
So essentially every market represents a local monopoly.
3. What Comcast is trying to do is a CLASSIC case of the abuse of monopolistic power. Comcast is trying to increase the profitability of its own movie service. Not by offering consumers a better product at a better price. They are trying to do it by trying to hamstring Netflix's dependence upon the internet...and that most people access it through cable TV lines.
The result is that the monopoly prospers...while the consumer gets stuck with an inferior product at a ridiculously high price. This is what happens when you have unregulated capitalism.
While you are obsessing about government phantoms stealing your "freedom"....you ignore the coporations who are actually are stealing your freedom of choice...and your money with inflated prices for poor products.
http://bloÂg.comcast.Âcom/2010/1Â1/comcast-Âcomments-oÂn-level-3.Âhtml
http://wwwÂ.digitalsoÂciety.org/Â2010/11/coÂmcast-leveÂl-3-net-neÂutrality-tÂhe-new-firÂe-in-a-movÂie-theaterÂ/
http://wwwÂ.digitalsoÂciety.org/Â2010/11/leÂvel-3-outbÂid-akamai-Âon-netflixÂ-by-resellÂing-stolenÂ-bandwidthÂ/
Level3 is attempting to leverage Comcast's vulnerable position as an applicant for a merger, as well as the FCC's threat to impose Internet regulation, to gain leverage over Comcast in a peering dispute. This isn't kosher. Alas, consumers can't vent their wrath on Level3 directly, because Level3 doesn't sell service to end users. But they can tell the FCC not to allow Level3 to play these games.
Our votes are drowned out by their ability to buy the politicians we elect, so the only way to get our country back from these sociopaths is to refuse to fund them!