14 DAY TRIAL // Netflix attacked Comcast yesterday, saying that it opposed the merger between the ISP and Time Warner Cable. Now, Comcast is firing back, saying that whatever Netflix had to say is not based on facts.
“Netflix’s opposition to our Time Warner Cable transaction is based on inaccurate claims and arguments. There has been no company that has had a stronger commitment to openness of the Internet than Comcast and we are the only ISP in the country that is currently legally bound by the FCC’s vacated net neutrality rules,” Comcast states, causing quite a few people to guffaw.
Comcast takes things a step further saying that the merger that everyone is afraid will completely make competition between ISPs disappear will in fact extend Net Neutrality protections to Time Warner Cable’s users as well.
Furthermore, it deems Netflix’s opposition to the transaction between Comcast and Time Warner Cable as unfounded because the issue applies to the industry as a whole.
The ISP then turned the fight against Netflix, saying that the video streaming service was trying to shift its costs from its customers to all Internet customers, regardless whether they were subscribed to Netflix or not.
“There is nothing unprecedented about our agreement with Netflix. It’s very similar to agreements that companies like Akamai, Yahoo, Limelight, and Google have with companies like Verizon, AT&T, Level 3, Sprint, and Comcast. Comcast alone has thousands of these transit relationships,” the company adds.
The top argument for Comcast seems to be the fact that Netflix was the one to approach it to create the direct connection between them, completely avoiding to mention that Netflix users had been suffering for months because the speeds kept dropping.
“If Netflix did not like the terms of our agreement, or if they do not like the terms Comcast provides at any time in the future, Netflix can work with any of the multiplicity of partners that connect with Comcast. There was and is no need for Netflix or any other Internet content provider to work directly with us or any other specific ISP,” Comcast writes.
The multi-billion deal between Comcast and Time Warner Cable is currently being analyzed by the US government and things aren’t exactly going well judging by some of the statements coming from members of the committee in charge of the investigation.