Apple and Comcast are reportedly in talks for a deal that would allow Comcast users to access the cable provider's content via an Apple TV set-top box. But the arrangement would also include an interconnection deal intended to make sure Internet-based content does not fall prey to buffering and other delays.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, a deal is not imminent, as the interconnection bit will require "significant investments in network equipment and other back-office technology."

Ideally, a deal like this would modernize the TV experience, replacing the clunky, traditional set-top boxes with which cable customers are familiar with an interface that more closely resembles the apps and widgets found on tablets and smartphones.

It would also stream live and on-demand TV programming from the cloud. But as anyone who has ever been met with the dreaded "buffering" notice on a mobile device knows, streaming video is not always as reliable as content on your TV. As a result, Apple "wants the new TV service's traffic to be separated from public Internet traffic over the 'last mile,'" the Journal said.

Recently, Netflix secured an interconnection deal with Comcast that establishes "a more direct connection between Netflix and Comcast" in order to improve the quality of Netflix streaming on Comcast. Netflix later said that it entered into that deal "reluctantly" and would instead prefer stronger net neutrality rules that make it unnecessary to secure interconnection deals at all.

Comcast fired back that it supports the principles of net neutrality and that these deals are nothing new. "Providers like Netflix have always paid for their interconnection to the Internet and have always had ample options to ensure that their customers receive an optimal performance through all ISPs at a fair price," said David L. Cohen, Comcast's executive president.

According to the Journal, Apple is not asking that its traffic be prioritized over other services, which would violate the principles of net neutrality. Though the FCC's official net neutrality rules were recently struck down, Comcast must adhere to them until at least 2018 as part of its NBC Universal acquisition deal.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler last month called on the commission to begin drafting new regulations.

A Comcast spokesman declined to comment on the Journal's report; Apple did not immediately responded to PCMag's request.

The news comes a few months after Bloomberg, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the matter, reported that Apple was in talks with Time Warner Cable and other firms to add video content to Apple TV. But that was before Time Warner Cable was acquired by Comcast for $45 billion.

For more, see Net Neutrality and the Ghettoization of the Internet.

Also check out PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses the talks between Apple and Comcast.

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