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Comment on The new Comcast Xbox Xfinity app is the first nail in net neutrality’s coffin

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I think the nail in net neutrality's coffin will be when they start charging (or discounting) other parties' services. That isn't the case here.

The way I see it you get all their content through a cable box today without paying data usage fees for the bandwidth TV uses on their network (that's the point of the TV subscription fee). Now they're allowing that content on another "set-top box", in this case the XBox. The implementation details (the fact it uses internet streaming vs cable tuner card) shouldn't matter to the end-user. You pay the TV subscription fee, you get it without additional fees.

If the situation were reversed and they were charging data fees for accessing content you already pay for, we'd be up in arms about that, too...

The XBox is not another set-top box though. It does not use the same network as their other boxes, it uses the customer's internet connection. The internet connection is capped at 250GB. If they are going to cap other services using the customers internet connection, they need to cap their own as well. Anything else is hypocritical & anti-competitive.

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