Comcast has signed an interconnection agreement with Internet backbone operator Level 3 with just a few weeks to go until the Federal Communications Commission starts taking complaints under its new net neutrality regime.

Comcast and Level 3 fought as early as 2010 over the amount of Netflix traffic that Level 3 was sending into Comcast's network. Level 3 agreed to pay Comcast for network interconnection at the time "under protest." Level 3 and Comcast announced another agreement in 2013 in a brief press release containing no details, but there was apparently still some tension between the companies.

Netflix traffic isn't a problem for Level 3 and Comcast anymore since Netflix last year began paying Comcast for a direct network connection to improve video quality. But network operators like Level 3 and Cogent have threatened to complain to the FCC about Internet service providers demanding money for upgrades needed to ensure good quality for other Internet services.

The disputes are finally coming to an end one by one, with Comcast and Level 3 announcing the latest agreement today. The Comcast/Level 3 negotiations may have been less contentious than others since the companies already had a deal in place. It's not clear exactly how the new agreement differs from previous ones, but the companies assured the public that customers will get "ample capacity," satisfying the FCC's primary concern about interconnection disputes.

"Comcast and Level 3 Communications announced they have reached a new multi-year, bilateral interconnection agreement as part of a multifaceted arrangement that will help both companies meet their customers’ needs into the next decade and beyond. The new arrangement builds on the strong working relationship between Comcast and Level 3, and expands on the agreements already in place between the two companies," the announcement said. "Under the terms of the agreement, Comcast and Level 3 will enhance their existing network capacity while extending their mutual interconnection agreements, ensuring that both maintain ample capacity to exchange Internet traffic between their networks. The agreement covers both companies’ existing networks as well as any expansion that may occur during the term of the agreement."

Comcast and Level 3 declined to say whether any money is changing hands. Both companies offer a variety of network backbone services, so there could be an exchange of services in addition to capacity upgrades at the interconnection points where the two companies' networks exchange traffic.

"While we are not discussing specifics of the agreement, the deal announced today includes a number of related agreements that deal with both Internet interconnection and network infrastructure," Level 3 told Ars. "This new agreement is mutually beneficial and will benefit both Level 3 and Comcast customers by ensuring there will be ample capacity to exchange traffic between the Comcast and Level 3 networks."

Level 3 has also settled disputes with AT&T and Verizon, while Cogent struck a deal with Verizon.

Level 3 and Cogent could start filing complaints against Internet providers on June 12. Broadband providers have sued the FCC to overturn the net neutrality order, and they're angry that the threat of complaints to the FCC has influenced interconnection agreement notifications. Time Warner Cable complained that shortly after the FCC's net neutrality order came out, Cogent "contacted TWC seeking to renegotiate the parties' interconnection arrangement and proposed terms that Cogent claimed are required under the Order's new 'just and reasonable' rubric for ISPs' interconnection practices." TWC and Cogent are apparently still at odds.