Posted by: Bob Quinn on December 2, 2010 at 11:40 am
When I read earlier this week that Level 3 was trying to elevate its peering dispute with Comcast into some kind of a major net neutrality gaffe, I immediately typed into my search engine the names Cogent Communications and Level 3 to see if I hadn’t somehow slipped into an alternative universe over the long Thanksgiving weekend. I was relieved to learn that I was merely back in Washington, D.C. where spin is both King and Queen. Here is what I found:
Level 3’s Shifting Positions on Peering -
As a Backbone Provider in 2005, Level 3 Said:
“There are a number of factors that determine whether a peering relationship is mutually beneficial. For example, Cogent was sending far more traffic to the Level 3 network than Level 3 was sending to Cogent’s network. It is important to keep in mind that traffic received by Level 3 in a peering relationship must be moved across Level 3′s network at considerable expense. Simply put, this means that, without paying, Cogent was using far more of Level 3′s network, far more of the time, than the reverse. Following our review, we decided that it was unfair for us to be subsidizing Cogent’s business.” Level 3 Press Release, Oct. 7, 2005
As a Content Delivery Network Operator in 2010, Level 3 Said:
“It is regrettable that Comcast has sought to portray this simply as a commercial disagreement or a peering dispute. They miss the point and are attempting to distract from the fundamental issue….The fundamental issue is not whether Comcast sends more traffic to Level 3 or whether Level 3 sends more traffic to Comcast. Both Level 3 and Comcast are responding to the requests of Comcast’s subscribers, who want to be free to see and use the full suite of content and applications that are available on the Internet today and in the future. Level 3 wants to assure that freedom is preserved.” Level 3 Press Release, November 29, 2010
Despite all the spin from Level 3 and political organizations like “Free Press,” and at the risk of contradicting one of my old Spinal Tap heroes Nigel Tufnel, I have to conclude that it’s not, in fact, louder just because it “goes to eleven”…this is just a peering dispute no matter how loudly Level 3 and Free Press shout “net neutrality violation.”
