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Comcast Agrees To Stop Blocking Internet Users

Will work with file-sharing companies and change network structure

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 27, 2008

Comcast also announced plans to migrate its cable network to a "protocol agnostic" standard that would not be configured to interfere with certain kinds of traffic.

"This means that we will have to rapidly reconfigure our network management systems, but the outcome will be a traffic management technique that is more appropriate for today's emerging Internet trends," said Comcast chief technology officer Tony Werner. "We have been discussing this migration and its effects with leaders in the Internet community for the last several months, and we will refine, adjust, and publish the technique based upon feedback and initial trial results."

The budding Comcast-BitTorrent partnership would extend to developing technologies that would more easily ensure the distribution of rich media content, such as video downloads and file-sharing, over Internet service provider networks. "This should prove to be a productive partnership that will provide consumers with a better Internet experience," said Doug Walker, CEO of BitTorrent.

Advocates of net neutrality, the principle that Internet users should be able to access all content equally, were pleased with the decision, but also said it was merely a start.

"The issue of Net Neutrality is bigger than Comcast and BitTorrent," said Marvin Ammori, general counsel for Free Press. "This agreement does nothing to protect the many other peer-to-peer companies from blocking, nor does it protect future innovative applications and services."

The FCC, which had agreed to investigate Comcast's network practices after consumer activist groups petitioned the agency, also had a mixed reaction.

"If it had not been for the FCC's attention to this issue earlier this year, we would not be having the conversation that we are having now among network operators, edge content providers, consumers and government about the best way to implement reasonable network management," said Democratic commissioner Michael Copps.

"While it may take time to implement its preferred new traffic management technique, it is not at all obvious why Comcast couldn't stop its current practice of arbitrarily blocking its broadband customers from using certain applications," said FCC chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican.

"Comcast should provide its broadband customers as well as the Commission with a commitment of a date certain by when it will stop this practice."

Comcast's Cable Conniptions

Comcast had previously earned the ire of many of its subscribers and consumer advocates when its practice of cutting off heavy-bandwith users without notice became common knowledge.

The company would often abruptly terminate the accounts of users who were allegedly causing network slowdowns for consuming too much bandwith, but Comcast would not commit to any hard "bandwith caps" for fear of scaring away subscribers who wanted "all-you-can-eat" bandwith pricing.

After the Associated Press confirmed in November 2007 that Comcast was deliberately interfering with some users of BitTorrent, the company issued a flurry of denials even in the face of mounting media pressure and a lawsuit filed over what the plaintiff called "deceptive marketing practices."

Comcast continued to balk, even in the face of mounting action by the FCC. Although Martin generally opposes new regulations supporting net neutrality, he has pursued an aggressive legislative agenda against cable companies since becoming chairman, even as he favors much more relaxed rules for telecom companies engaged in similar practices.

The issue hit a peak in February 2008, when the FCC held its first public meeting to address the Comcast investigation in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Comcast stacked the audience in its favor by paying employees, the homeless, and students to fill the auditorium and block critics from attending.

Supporters of net neutrality said that Comcast's actions were proof that laws needed to be passed guaranteeing equal access to Internet content for all users. Although previous attempts to pass legislation enshrining net neutrality as law failed in the previous Congress, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced a new bill that would not only preserve net neutrality, but empower the FCC to investigate all cases of content blocking or discrimination.

House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI) held new hearings on the issue earlier this month, and expressed his belief that violations of net neutrality could be policed under antitrust laws preventing noncompetitive behavior in the marketplace.

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