NetNeutrality
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FCC chief supports sanctions against Comcast for data discrimination
You may not remember so vividly the fiasco surrounding Comcast's data meddling ways unless you were directly affected, but FCC chief Kevin J. Martin is looking out for us all by backing sanctions against the carrier in a stand for net neutrality. Essentially, Mr. Martin isn't asking that Comcast be fined; rather, he wants the provider to "change its practices and give the commission more details on what it did in the past." Essentially, he's aiming to establish a standard that will "make it difficult for an ISP to discriminate against users based on what they want to do online," which we couldn't possibly support more. Of course, there's nothing saying that sanctions will indeed be levied against Comcast, but whatever happens, we'd love to see a precedent set that forbids providers from tampering with those 1s and 0s.[Thanks, Matt]
Comcast backs off BitTorrent, will continue to manage internet traffic
Although Comcast has been beating around the proverbial bush about its data-meddling ways, it seems the pressure from the recent FCC investigation efforts have forced it to play nice. Reportedly, the firm is getting set to (begrudgingly, we presume) announce that it will "stop targeting BitTorrent on the internet." More specifically, the cable company will purportedly "boost broadband capacity" in order to make things speedier all around, but details on this tidbit were unsurprisingly absent. Nevertheless, BitTorrent has also agreed to make its software "more efficient," but those hoping that Comcast would leave well enough alone are in for even more disappointment. The outfit still plans on managing traffic on the 'net (standard practice, we know), but Tony Werner, executive VP and CTO, noted that it was "working hard on a different approach that is protocol-agnostic during peak periods."[Thanks, Mike and Kenneth]
EFF claims that Comcast is still meddling with data
According to a report released by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Comcast has yet to relinquish its data discriminating habits, and users attempting to share content via P2P could still face slowdowns and unexpected delays. Of course, Comcast's Charlie Douglas proclaimed that the firm "does not, has not, and will not block any web site or online application, including peer-to-peer services," but followed up by stating that it did engage in "reasonable network management to serve all of its customers with a good internet experience." The EFF, however, saw things differently. During its own tests, it was reportedly able to confirm conclusions drawn earlier this year by the AP, and it also exclaimed that Comcast was "essentially deploying against its own customers techniques more typically used by malicious hackers." Pretty strong words, to say the least, but we're curious to know if the continued Comcast bashing is indeed legitimate. So, dear readers / Comcast users, are you still (or have you ever, for that matter) experiencing sketchy P2P performance, or is this all just one overblown mess?
Coalition urges FCC to halt Comcast's data tampering
Just a fortnight after the AP called Comcast out for tampering with some users' ability to swap files over P2P networks, a coalition has formally asked the FCC to stop the operator from interfering with such activity. The petition reportedly asks the Commission to "immediately declare that Comcast is violating the FCC's policy," and it's being supported by the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Media Access Project and professors at the internet practices of the Yale, Harvard and Stanford law schools (among others). Separately, Free Press and Public Knowledge are filing a complaint that asks the FCC to demand a "forfeiture from Comcast of $195,000 per affected subscriber." It's also said that this will be the "first real test of the FCC's stance on Net Neutrality," but there's no telling how long the Commission will wait before acting on the filings.
Comcast fesses up to traffic delays
Following AP reports published last week that painted Comcast in a less-than-positive light for apparently stifling BitTorrent uploads, the company has come clean (somewhat, that is). Reportedly, the firm did admit to "delaying" some subscriber internet traffic, but stated that any hiccups were "temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users." More specifically, Mitch Bowling, senior vice president of Comcast Online Services, was quoted as saying that Comcast utilized "several network management technologies that, when necessary, enabled it to delay -- not block -- some peer-to-peer traffic," but that doesn't exactly jive with the AP's findings. Nevertheless, Mr. Bowling also stated that the problem was "unintentional and due to a software bug [saywha?] that had been fixed." So with that being said, are any of the afflicted users out there still seeing issues, or has all this negative attention really resulted in a change of heart?
Comcast engaging in data discrimination, claims AP
ISPs throttling or downright banning access is certainly not unheard of outside of America, but for Comcast customers fully expecting an unadulterated portal to the intarwebs, the AP's latest findings may cause some serious kvetching. Reportedly, the Associated Press has "confirmed through nationwide tests" that Comcast is indeed "actively interfering with attempts by some of its high-speed internet subscribers to share files online." Deemed the "most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a US internet service provider," the outfit seems to be stifling BitTorrent uploads (but not downloads), and spokesman Charlie Douglas even went so far as to confirm that the company utilizes "sophisticated methods to keep web connections running smoothly." Granted, we're not shocked at all that Comcast is engaging in traffic shaping, but as of now, it has yet to come clean about its apparent involvement in hindering P2P uploads. So, dear Comcast users, have any of you noticed any such shenanigans going on?[Thanks, Jerry]
Judiciary Committee approves net neutrality
In a move that may pave the way for legislation forbidding phone and cable companies from charging content providers a premium for access to customers, the House Judiciary Committee today approved the net neutrality bill introduced by Committee Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI). The bill, known formally as the "Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act," must still go to the full House, where it faces a competing bill promulgated by the Commerce Committee. The bill cleared the Committee 20-13, with bipartisan support. If you have no idea what we're talking about, that's cool -- we haven't covered it much here on Engadget, but it's a very important issue about how the internet is or isn't governed by big communications companies in the years to come.
