Ya, you're forgetting the part where he who controls the eyeballs has all the power. Comcast, AT&T, and VZW all have long-haul networks of their own. This is simply their way of trying to either force companies like Netflix to dump Level3 and buy transit from them, or force Level3 to pay them for the transit someone like Netflix would as a direct customer. THIS is the problem with allowing ISPs to have monopolies. What is Level3 going to do? Consumers like myself who literally have no choice of ISP can't just up and pick a new one if Level3 were to "turn off the internet" tomorrow. Sure, I could call and complain, bitch to my local senator, but then what? The big ISPs have bought and paid for all our political representatives, so they don't have to worry about legislative repercussions. I can't switch ISPs, so they don't have to worry about losing me as a customer. Why would they ever change what they're doing?