FCC ‘Peering’ Into Comcast-TIME WARNER CABLE

The Federal Communications Commission is looking to drill down on the matter of "paid peering", instances in which online video distributors such as Netflix agree to pay for access to the networks of Internet service providers that own the last-mile link to subscribers.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler may have signaled that he wanted to keep such interconnection charges out of the Internet-neutrality debate, but the same can’t be said of the battle over whether to allow Comcast and Time Warner Cable to merge. The FCC has reached out to a host of over-the-top video edge providers -- including Netflix, Hulu and HBO Go -- for information on peering or interconnection deals with the top 20 ISPs and the traffic flows of that content. The FCC appears to want to use the merger to help it determine whether paid peering is an anticompetitive move, as Netflix has suggested, or whether it’s part of the cost of doing businesses, as ISPs have said.