AT&T denies it would throttle Netflix in heavily redacted FCC filing

Netflix's objection to the proposed AT&T/DirecTV merger drew a response from AT&T, which said that "economic realities" prevent it from degrading online videos delivered over its Internet service. AT&T's filing with the Federal Communications Commission is heavily redacted, eliminating details about Netflix's agreement to pay AT&T for a direct network connection, as well as various other AT&T documents. AT&T urged the FCC to reject a merger condition proposed by Netflix, which said AT&T should not be allowed to charge Netflix and other content providers for network connections.

But many of the details cited by AT&T in support of its argument were shielded from public view. "Netflix continues to insist that it will be harmed unless the Commission prohibits AT&T (and only AT&T) from charging content providers that seek to connect to AT&T’s network," AT&T counsel Maureen Jeffreys wrote. "For the reasons articulated in AT&T’s April 21, 2015 submission and emphasized further below, the Commission should reject any such condition, especially when imposed on only one company in a hotly contested broadband marketplace dominated by incumbent cable companies."