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Comment by bdb | Hacker News Reader

If you read the decree:

  If Comcast offers consumers Internet Access Service under a
  package that includes caps, tiers, metering, or other
  usage-based pricing, it shall not measure, count, or 
  otherwise treat Defendants’ affiliated network traffic 
  differently from unaffiliated network traffic.  Comcast
  shall not prioritize Defendants’ Video Programming or
  other content over other Persons’ Video Programming or
  other content.

It's not about Comcast using your bandwidth, it's about them offering services which third party providers "can't," because their traffic is not treated equally.

[edit: formatting]

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Did you know that when you watch pay per view on your TV using comcast it runs on the exact same lines as your internet?

So are you saying comcast can not provide pay per view?

They can not prioritize the internet part of their service "network traffic", but as you yourself proved this service doesn't use your internet bandwidth, even if it uses TCP/IP. It runs using its own section of the cable line. It doesn't matter that it uses DOCSIS, or TCP/IP. Comcast is well within their rights to use their cable lines for TV service.

> it's about them offering services which third party providers "can't,"

Yes, that's true - comcast offers cable TV, and other providers can't. Shouldn't you be complaining about that too?

The difference is this: I pay for internet bandwidth - comcast can not then use that bandwidth in a way that prioritizes their own services. But if comcast wants to provide me extra bandwidth to my house, and then run a service over it, that's perfectly OK.

BTW you should get kudos for including all the data in your post. I'm arguing with you using the data that you yourself gave me, which isn't a great way to argue (I should really go and get my own data). So you get credit for that, but I'm sorry, your conclusion is just incorrect.

Most of your cable service's video is actually delivered over IP, but it is on dedicated RF spectrum, even though it's on the same physical wire. If Comcast wants to deliver video to my STB over separate channels, I don't care what protocol they decide to use.

However, if they're delivering video to a generalized computing device in my home, over my home Ethernet network, over the same downstream channels as Internet traffic, and further, they're prioritizing that traffic, that's different. If there was congestion in the last mile that wasn't just me hitting my rate limit with synthetic traffic, Comcast's traffic would be prioritized, and that's not right. It would be affecting your internet bandwidth. If Comcast had provisioned dedicated RF channels for handling this traffic, just as they do for your STB, then I could at least see your point, but that's just not the case.

[edit: typo]

It's only prioritized up till the cable modem, not after so that part doesn't matter (i.e. other providers have equal access to your home network).

And up till the cable modem it is basically using a different channel: They are increasing your allowed bandwidth to make up for the usage. To me that's indistinguishable from a dedicated RF channel.

On your last point, we'll have to agree to disagree. Good night! Thanks for the spirited discussion.

By prioritizing network traffic and running this over their same routers someone down the street using their XBox reduces my bandwidth without being part of any cap's, that's a real problem.

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