Comcast Roundup: FCC loses court appeal on net neutrality, could NBC just be a start and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• The New York Times reports on a federal appeals court decision that says the FCC has no authority to keep cable companies from blocking or slowing specific sites and charge high-volume video sites to have their content delivered faster.
• Bloomberg reports that at least five states are involved in the regulatory review of the Comcast acquisition of NBC, in addition to an independent inquiry from the Florida attorney general.

Below, a radio interview on net neutrality, could Comcast want more content than NBC provides and more.

• GigaOM has an interview with Cathy Avgiris, a senior Comcast vice president who is responsible for the company’s bundled Xfinity feature. They talk convergence, bundled packages and services in the pipeline. H/T Philly Tech News
• American Public Media’s “Marketplace” Kai Ryssdal has a conversation with Washington Post tech writer Cecilia Kang about net neutrality and the future of the FCC.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Young Philly Politics runs a plea on behalf of the Free Press asking for supporters of its ‘Save the Internet’ petition on a net neutrality issue that Comcast leaders say is more complicated than a simple case of transparency.  The Post reports that the deadline for the public to weigh in on the net neutrality issue has been extended to April 26.
• The Business Insider listed the Xfinity branding in 11 of Comcast’s markets one of its ’10 Major Rebranding Disasters.”
• The Washington Post reports that telecommunications companies have begun to criticize portions of the FCC’s recently released national broadband plan. Comcast has yet to give a take. The Post also reports that the above mentioned appeals court decision limiting FCC power will further disrupt its broadband plans.
• The Inquirer’s Joe DiStefano dives into a conversation on whether Comcast might eye additional content deals beyond the NBC acquisition.

GIVE A GLANCE

• DSL Reports takes on the rapid deployment of the long-heralded Comcast usage meters, tracking their imposed 250 GB cap, and noting that going over can result in a warning before having an account suspended for as much as a year.  H/T PTN
• Seeking Alpha says that as much as one-fifth of Comcast’s value is rooted in its VoIP or digital voice business.
• Light Reading reports that Verizon has taken something of a swipe at early efforts at 3D, which includes Comcast’s display of the Masters, and pledged its own 3D service by the 2010 holiday shopping season.
• The Comcast corporate blog features video on just why its 3D capture of the Masters is cooler than how Verizon portrayed it.

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When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST.