Comcast customers won't need cable box with upcoming apps

Consumers typically pay cable companies extra fees for these boxes, and the cable industry is opposed to the effort.

Stream has raised the hackles of net-neutrality advocates because using it doesn't count against the data caps that Comcast has in some areas — they think this could make customers prefer Comcast's own TV service over, say, streaming Netflix, which would count against a cap.

Net neutrality is the concept that internet service providers should treat all traffic equally.