Recently, Netflix inked a deal with Comcast that many proclaimed as the harbinger of internet doom. This deal, especially such a prominent one from a staunch defender of Net Neutrality was going to ruin the internet's equality forever.

Except that it's not. Netflix wasn't paying for faster access or better treatment. It's still no faster than iTunes, HBO GO, Amazon Instant, or any other VOD business. Netflix is merely paying for the additional infrastructure Comcast needs because of the sheer volume of Netflix traffic. It's actually quite reasonable - Netflix wants Comcast to have more capacity from its CDN, so they purchased it for Comcast. Specifically, they bought Comcast a higher capacity connection to their CDN - meaning Netflix wouldn't cause itself to run slower under high demand.

When someone starts paying for preferred access inside an ISP's network, then it's time to be worried. Preferred access like that in the recently-proposed FCC rules. Gulp.