Comcast to stop hampering file-sharing

NF Reporter · 03-27-2008, 12:50 PM

AP - Comcast Corp., an Internet service provider under investigation for hampering online file-sharing by its subscribers, announced Thursday an about-face in its stance and said it will treat all types of Internet traffic equally.

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sunken · 04-01-2008, 09:56 PM

They must have had a lot of people jumping ship. Companies don't normally change policies like that unless it affects their bottom line. They were probably having trouble signing people up with the PR nightmare that the whole throttling thing created. Even if most of the people signing up wouldn't use it, the idea that certain functions would be throttled is not an attractive feature because where does it end?

waltky · 09-04-2008, 11:56 PM

Comcast cryin' foul...

Comcast appeals FCC Web-blocking decision
Thurs., Sept. 4, 2008 WASHINGTON - Commission determined company violated policy ensuring unfettered access

Quote:

Comcast Corp. is appealing an FCC ruling that the company is improperly blocking customers' Web traffic, triggering a legal battle that could determine the extent of the government's authority to regulate the Internet. In a precedent-setting move, a divided Federal Communications Commission last month determined that the company is violating a federal policy that guarantees unfettered access to the Internet. Comcast challenged the FCC decision Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington.

Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen said in a statement that the company is seeking "review and reversal" of the FCC order and that the commission's action was "legally inappropriate and its findings were not justified by the record." The Comcast case arose from complaints by users of a type of "file-sharing" software often used to download large data files, usually video. Tests by The Associated Press and others found that file-sharing transmissions were aborting prematurely. It was later discovered that the company was cutting off transfers without informing customers.

The FCC noted Comcast's network management practices were "discriminatory and arbitrary" and that the company's practices "contravene industry standards and have significantly impeded Internet users' ability to use applications and access content of their choice." The agency also noted that the type of traffic Comcast is blocking has become "a competitive threat" to cable operators because it is used by people to view high-quality video that they "might otherwise watch (and pay for) on cable television."

More Comcast appeals FCC Web-blocking decision - Internet - MSNBC.com