4 ms·

If I was Level 3 I would have said "leave it" to Comcast and let Comcast block the service for all their customers. It would have caused a bigger media sensatio

• Terretta 16y ago
  Netflix's software traffic balances among Akamai, Limelight, and Level(3). If Comcast blocked Level(3)'s Netflix hosting, customers would still get streams, just pulled from Akamai and Limelight. I'd guess that Level3 is counting on "Tier 1 backbone" peering agreements to make delivering this bandwidth affordable while avoiding having to negotiate with each cable co separately, while Akamai and Limelight have direct agreements with the cable companies already. If this is what's going on, that would give Comcast leverage.
  • mwcremer 16y ago
    Which suggests Comcast's real aim may be to force Level 3 to peer.
    • TheCondor 16y ago
      Could be. Comcast is easy to hate for whatever reasons as so many people actually have contact with them. Level 3 in my experience is run by complete incompetents and perhaps just as aggressive with lock-in tactics. Anyone know anything about L3's current strength? Their stock doesn't look good but I have no idea what's going on inside. I wouldn't at all be surprised if this is because L3 wouldn't peer to comcast or wanted to give them some sort of premium tier pricing for no added value or some other mess happened in the past between the two...
    • wmf 16y ago
      Comcast and Level 3 were already free peering before this dispute; now they're paid peering.