Comcast Says VOD IP Streams to Xbox Using DSCP Don’t Prioritize Transmissions
Comcast mounted its lengthiest defense of exempting from broadband data caps Internet Protocol streams of VOD sent to videogame consoles over its managed network and not the public Internet. The cable operator said its exception for IP streams sent to Xbox 360s isn’t a violation of net neutrality rules or what it agreed to with the FCC and Justice Department to buy control of NBCUniversal. Netflix has said such exemptions are a violation of net neutrality rules, and Level 3 and others have expressed concern over Comcast’s policy (CD May 15 p3). Some nonprofits that back net neutrality rules have also expressed concern.
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The use of differentiated services code point (DSCP) markings of the VOD IP transmissions to identify them as separate from what else is sent to the cable modem termination system -- such as what happens when subscribers download streaming video from websites -- isn’t prioritized, Chief Technology Officer Tony Werner said in a blog post Tuesday. It makes “crystal clear that, in contrast to some other providers, we are not prioritizing our transmission of Xfinity TV content to the Xbox (as some have speculated),” he wrote (http://xrl.us/bm773z) of Comcast’s cable programming. “While DSCP markings can be used to assign traffic different priority levels, that is not their only application -- and that is not what they are being used for here."
Werner said the IP service falls under Title VI of the Communications Act, which covers cable programming. Netflix has said that doesn’t exempt Comcast from having to treat the traffic equal to all other data transmissions (CD May 11 p5). Officials at Netflix and public interest groups that have criticized Comcast for the service had no immediate comment. The Xbox service is delivered “in a similar manner as other IP-based cable service providers,” Werner wrote. “But this is still our traditional cable television service ... and we provide the service in compliance with applicable FCC rules.” The post described how the Xbox service is a cable service that’s separate from Comcast’s broadband product: “We provision a separate, additional bandwidth flow into the home for the use of this service -- above and beyond, and distinct from, the bandwidth a customer has for his or her regular Internet access service."
The Xbox acts like a “traditional” set-top box that gets cable channels, Werner wrote. “Rather than delivering this content in the traditional way we deliver our cable services (which is often referred to as video over QAM) or delivering it over the Internet (as, for example, a Netflix or Hulu Plus would do), we are sending that cable service using IP technology to the Xbox over our managed network.” Many other services sent to Xbox 360s are delivered on the public Internet, are available outside cable-connected homes unlike the Xbox service and so fall under data caps, Werner explained. He cited what’s on the company’s xfinityTV.com, its iPad app and nbc.com.
"We treat all of this traffic the same” as required by the FCC’s 2010 net neutrality order and the commission and DOJ orders approving the purchase of control in NBCUniversal, Werner wrote. “Comcast is committed to an open Internet and has pledged to abide by the FCC’s Open Internet rules,” he said. “Comcast continues to evaluate the impact, effectiveness, and fairness of its data usage standards, and our fundamental philosophical approach is that the application of broadband Internet data usage thresholds must be based on fair treatment for all of our customers -- services that go over the Internet, whether they are XfinityTV.com, nbc.com, or others, are all subject to the same data usage thresholds.”