Re:President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet
by diminoten on Monday November 10, 2014 @11:33AM
(#8584488)
There aren't different "kinds" of electricity. Electricity you get anywhere is going to be exactly the same.
The Internet is completely different, and the whole point of peering is acknowledging that fact. Netflix and Comcast peer because Netflix has something Comcast can't get anywhere else.
The Internet isn't very much like a power grid at all, in fact. That's a terrible analogy.
Re:President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet
by belorn on Monday November 10, 2014 @01:13PM
(#8585155)
Where I live, I can buy solar power, water power, nuclear power or generic power. The utility providers support many upstream suppliers, and the source of electricity is the defining attribute. It is also dictate where the power bill is sent from.
Also, Netflix is not paying money to Comcast because Netflix has something Comcast can't get anywhere else. Netflix is paying comcast because otherwise comcast is refusing their user access to netflix.
Imagine a power grid where different sources paid different amounts for the last mile. Would it be right to deny the last mile to a new actor, say a new solar power plant, on the basis that its competing with existing coal power?