Comcast charges toll on competing online video provider Netflix. (Free market fail?)

[a completely inoffensive name]

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co...ideo-delivery/

Comcast charges a toll on Level 3 Communications which works with Netflix to deliver streaming movies. Comcast has its own video streaming service competing with Netflix. Now Netflix must raise its prices and pay the extra fee or Comcast threatens to cut it off completely from Comcast customers. Don't worry, free market will solve this. Net neutrality is still a solution waiting for a problem.

EDIT: Statement from Level 3 communications. http://www.level3.com/index.cfm?pageID=491&PR=962

Key part: “Level 3 believes Comcast’s current position violates the spirit and letter of the FCC’s proposed Internet Policy principles and other regulations and statutes, as well as Comcast’s previous public statements about favoring an open Internet.

“While the network neutrality debate in Washington has focused on what actions a broadband access provider might take to filter, prioritize or manage content requested by its subscribers, Comcast’s decision goes well beyond this. With this action, Comcast is preventing competing content from ever being delivered to Comcast’s subscribers at all, unless Comcast’s unilaterally-determined toll is paid – even though Comcast’s subscribers requested the content. With this action, Comcast demonstrates the risk of a ‘closed’ Internet, where a retail broadband Internet access provider decides whether and how their subscribers interact with content."