Comcast, Level 3 Cut New Interconnection Deal

Putting some bad blood behind them, Comcast and Level 3 Communications announced that they have signed a long-term interconnection deal that “will help both companies meet their customers’ needs into the next decade and beyond.” Financial terms were not disclosed, but they said the deal expands on agreements already in place between the two companies, and that Comcast and Level 3 will enhance their existing network capacity while extending their mutual interconnection agreements, ensuring that both maintain ample capacity to exchange Internet traffic between their networks.

The agreement covers both companies’ existing networks as well as any expansion that may occur during the term of the agreement, they said. It also comes into play about five years after Level 3 and Comcast went public with a contentious peering dispute, with Level 3 complaining that Comcast was erecting a “toll booth” on the Internet soon after Level 3 landed a deal to be a primary content delivery channel for Netflix streaming traffic. At the time, Comcast argued that Level 3 wanted Comcast to accept a huge increase in traffic from Level 3 for free. Apparently, that’s all water under the bridge now.