Comcast defended its move to ask Broomfield-based Level 3 Communications to pay for delivering more Internet traffic across its network in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, rebutting Level 3’s charge that it was erecting a “toll booth” on its network.
The letter responded to questions the FCC asked Comcast during a phone call Monday, when Level 3 issued a press statement accusing the cable company of acting unfairly by demanding new fees for delivering Internet video and other content.
Level 3 operates a nationwide Internet network to help companies distribute content more efficiently.
“Indeed, if anything, it is Level 3 that is seeking ‘non-neutral’ treatment that would favor its network traffic over those of all its competitors,” Comcast senior vice president Joseph Waz wrote to the agency.
The letter reiterated Comcast’s earlier defense that it regularly requested such fees from Level 3’s competitors.
Comcast wrote that it sought a new commercial agreement with Level 3 after Level 3 told the cable company that it expected to deliver significantly more traffic roughly two weeks ago, a move Comcast later discovered was related to Level 3 adding video service Netflix as a customer.
Level 3 assistant chief legal officer John Ryan said in a statement Tuesday that Comcast’s portrayal of the issue as a typical “peering dispute” between networks is a distraction.
