FCC Says Comcast Violated Broadband Access

Tag : continuously cast

In a 3-2 vote cast earlier today, the FCC determined that thenation’s largest broadband provider interfered withsubscribers’ access to free and open Internet connections.

Specifically the commission accused Comcast, also the largest cablecompany in the United States, of using technology to monitor thecontent of its customer’s Internet connections and toselectively block BitTorrent P2P applications. Thecommission’s declaratory ruling was in response to acomplaint by Free Press and Public Knowledge, which accused thecable provider of “unduly interfering with Internet usersright to access the lawful Internet content and to use theapplications of their choice.”

Comcast initially denied the accusations but when pressed, admittedthat it was targeting its P2P customers for interference but onlyduring peak times of usage. Upon further investigation, it wasdiscovered that the cable provider was interfering with such userscontinuously, regardless of the time of day.

The commission concluded that Comcast’s network managementpractices discriminate among applications rather than treating allequally and are inconsistent with the concept of an open andaccessible Internet. For example, the FCC noted thatComcast’s targeting of P2P users was highly suspect becausethey could conceivably watch video over broadband for free ratherthan pay for Comcast’s VOD services.

Comcast claimed that it had the right to use “reasonablenetwork management” practices to combat network congestionbut the commission didn’t buy that argument, saying thatComcast’s Internet blocking traffic was too widespread andunfairly targeted non P2P users. It also said Comcast failed tonotify its customers of such practices.

The commission ordered that within 30 days, Comcast must disclosethe details of its discriminatory network management; submit a planfor compliance by the end of the year; and disclose its new networkmanagement practices that will replace current ones.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association didn’tsay whether it would challenge the ruling in court, but hammeredthe bureaucrats.

“One need look no further than today’s FCC decision forproof that engineering challenges on the Internet should be solvedby engineers, not government officials,” NCTA boss KyleMcSlarrow said in a statement. “In second-guessing reasonablenetwork management techniques (with no notice or guidelines inplace) that benefit the overwhelming number of broadbandsubscribers in America, the FCC has inexplicably elevated theinterests of a few bandwidth hogs over everyone else.”

Public Knowledge, on the other hand called the FCC’s actions“a bold step.”

“Comcast’s throttling of legal Internet traffic hadnothing to do with network management as the company claims,”said Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn. “It had everythingto do with a big company trying to exert its power over a captiveInternet market.”