XBOX 360

Comcast fires back over Xfinity TV on Xbox 360, says no way, no how it's violating net neutrality

Complaints by Netflix's Reed Hastings and a handful of politicians must have rankled Comcast CTO Tony Werner, as he just posted a particularly detailed explanation of why Comcast believes the Xfinity TV app on the Xbox 360 isn't violating net neutrality. We'd previously heard the argument that the Xfinity app's traffic is simply being routed through Comcast's internal network and isn't the same as the Internet data of Netflix, but Werner now contends that the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) tags that some think are breaking FCC rules by favoring Xfinity video are really just necessary switches. They're not prioritizing traffic, they're setting it aside, the claim goes. Of course, Hastings and others believe that setting Xfinity video aside is prioritizing, and Comcast's point of view sidesteps the practical reality that watching Netflix, Amazon Instant Video or iTunes will lead you closer to that ever-present 250GB cap while Xfinity doesn't. The FCC during its rulemaking warned against special private services being used as end-runs around neutrality concerns; it's up to the agency to decide whether or not that's true here, or whether Comcast is just offering its usual service in a new way.