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With FCC investigation looming, Comcast repeats same old argument

14 January 2008 23:56 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 27 comments

As they're being investigated for alleged violations of the FCC's 2005 Internet Policy Statement, Comcast appears to be sticking to the same company line that company representatives have used for months, namely that they're not blockingany applications.

According to a statement sent to Ars Technica by Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen "Comcast does not, has not, and will not block any websites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services." He also indicated that the company hopes to "bring more transparency for consumers regarding broadband network management."

However, most people familiar with the situation are taking any Comcast statement with a grain of salt right now. For one thing, despite their rhetoric, Comcast has refused to say exactly what form the "network management" that apparently manages to stop much BitTorrent traffic actually takes. Even FCC Chairman Kevin Martin expressed doubt over Comcast's claims, noting in an appearance last week at the Consumer Electronics Show, "When they have reasonable network practices, they should disclose those and make those public."

In reality, what Comcast is being accused of isn't exactly "blocking" applications. Rather, the claims are that they're delaying packets used for particular applications, most notably BitTorrent, for a period of time that will cause them to time out waiting to be delivered. In other words transfers will be stopped because Comcast's network engineers delay them. Although this may not technically amount to "blocking" an application, in effect that's exactly what's happening.

Certainly the eyes of other ISPs and various online service providers of different types will be watching to see the outcome. Besides dealing with the specifics of the Comcast situation, the FCC has also been asked by Vuze Inc, a company that (legally) distributes content using BitTorrent, to clarify the exact rights and responsibilities ISPs have to allow or deny particular traffic. According to some, the 2005 FCC rules mandate that as long as content isn't illegal to begin with, ISPs have no right to treat it any differently than the rest of their network's traffic. Comcast, on the other hand, has said that they feel their "network management" is within the FCC guidelines.

Source: Ars Technica

Permalink to this article

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FCC chairman hints at action against Comcast (11 March 2008)

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FCC chairman ready to take on ISPs over net neutrality (25 February 2008)

FCC hearing Monday on ISPs' network management practices open to public (25 February 2008)

BitTorrent developers working on encryption to defeat ISP interference (18 February 2008)

Comcast defends BitTorrent blocking in response to FCC (13 February 2008)

FCC to consider net neutrality and ISP network management (12 February 2008)

Verizon VP says no plans to examine customer traffic (30 January 2008)

France to mandate ISP monitoring of customers for copyright infringement (29 January 2008)

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CES 2008: Comcast CEO to discuss Fancast TV and movie listing service in CES address (8 January 2008)

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Canadian ISP admits limiting P2P traffic (5 November 2007)

FCC complaint filed against Comcast regarding "network management" (3 November 2007)

Senators urge committee chairman to hold Net Neutrality hearing (26 October 2007)

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Discuss this article!	There are more user comments available, read them here
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 15 January 2008 4:54
*Originally posted by hikaricor:* Oh yea, Comcast be messed up right in the bum. ^_^ Nothing be wrong with that mate..its when napalm and spiked objects get used thigns get..."frisky" aye! oy vay......teh gay pirate vocie hath spoken..... 0-o [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15 January 2008 13:48
21Q (Senior Member) 15 January 2008 7:27
Well I have comcast so I can say that this is very true. Just to show an example, now remember that I put the most optimized well uh options, I was downloading a 13gb file that was legal and had ok seeds. It took me from May 2007 - January 2008. So I think that says something as a friend of mine downloaded it in a week with default setting on his network. [ + quote]
7thsinger (Senior Member) 15 January 2008 8:36
*Quote:* Comcast, on the other hand, has said that they feel their "network management" is within the FCC guidelines. Since when is "throttling" good network management? Since when is getting part of what you pay monthly for a "reasonable network practice?" Since when should any paying customers fall prey to signing up, paying out, and receiving a limited version of the intial service? Piss off Comcast and your shady network management, which is just a fancy way of saying throttling the customers that made your service so popular. If i go to Mcdonalds and get a burger and fries, and one of their employees starts taking away my fries because of how i'm eating 'em, you could bet there would be a beat down coming. [ + quote]
banned2X (Inactive) 15 January 2008 9:50
A prime example of why American business is deteriorating. All about the buck and not giving a shizzy about the consumer. In my opinion, Comcast (as well as all other companies I pay) WORK FOR ME. I pay them, not the other way around. DO WHAT I SAY or YOU'RE FIRED COMCAST!! That's the way it SHOULD be. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 15 January 2008 9:52
*Originally posted by banned2X:* A prime example of why American business is deteriorating. All about the buck and not giving a shizzy about the consumer. In my opinion, Comcast (as well as all other companies I pay) WORK FOR ME. I pay them, not the other way around. DO WHAT I SAY or YOU'RE FIRED COMCAST!! That's the way it SHOULD be. the trouble is its them or At&T who stipulates their is no privacy. 0-o [ + quote]
banned2X (Inactive) 15 January 2008 9:54
*Quote:* *Quote:* Comcast, on the other hand, has said that they feel their "network management" is within the FCC guidelines. Since when is "throttling" good network management? Since when is getting part of what you pay monthly for a "reasonable network practice?" Since when should any paying customers fall prey to signing up, paying out, and receiving a limited version of the intial service? Piss off Comcast and your shady network management, which is just a fancy way of saying throttling the customers that made your service so popular. If i go to Mcdonalds and get a burger and fries, and one of their employees starts taking away my fries because of how i'm eating 'em, you could bet there would be a beat down coming. And this one I could not agree more with. Simply put.......who doesn't encounter this scenario??? 4Mbps down and you get MAYBE 2.5 6Mbps down and you get MAYBE 3.5 - 4.0 **8Mbps down and you get MAYBE 5.5 - 6.0 It's B.S. and should be stopped instantly. False advertisement and Comcast, of all companies, has merit and needs to be sued. MMMmmmmmm............anyone remember Fight Club? Let's do that but replace or include Comcast with the CC companies. [ + quote]
fnixon (Newbie) 15 January 2008 10:04
I have Comcast and it SUCKS! I am looking for another ISP as I find trouble with downloading legal files over Bittorrent and like others, it is painfully slow. They should be fully investigated on their throttling I read mentioned earlier, what a crock of baloney! [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15 January 2008 13:50
BludRayne (Junior Member) 15 January 2008 12:16
Verizon sucks also. My network is down half the time, especially on weekends and holidays when I need it the most. [ + quote]
fnixon (Newbie) 15 January 2008 12:35
I have Comcast and it SUCKS! I am looking for another ISP as I find trouble with downloading legal files over Bittorrent and like others, it is painfully slow. They should be fully investigated on their throttling I read mentioned earlier, what a crock of baloney! [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15 January 2008 13:49
binkie7 (Moderator) 15 January 2008 13:52
@hikaricor & fnixon Watch the language - keep it clean. Forum Rules Do this before posting [ + quote]
banned2X (Inactive) 15 January 2008 14:10
*Originally posted by binkie7:* @hikaricor & fnixon Watch the language - keep it clean. hikaricor's first 'F' bomb is understandable but you can't be serious about the word 'sucks'. I mean this stuff is allowed on network television. Please clarify playground rules. [ + quote]
7thsinger (Senior Member) 15 January 2008 15:56
*Originally posted by banned2X:* *Originally posted by binkie7:* @hikaricor & fnixon Watch the language - keep it clean. hikaricor's first 'F' bomb is understandable but you can't be serious about the word 'sucks'. I mean this stuff is allowed on network television. Please clarify playground rules. I believe she was referring to the use of a word that rhymes with spit and usually has to do with excrement. You know, the one she edited out. My life never began with "once upon a time" so why would i expect it to end with "happily ever after"? [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15 January 2008 16:04
vinny13 (Inactive) 15 January 2008 16:12
They can die. [ + quote]
xSModder (Junior Member) 15 January 2008 16:40
Comcast reminds me of the MPAA. Always denying they're the ones that are wrong. [ + quote]
Sazy (Junior Member) 15 January 2008 18:43
Its just not Comcast that doesn't give the customers what they pay for, its the same with AT&T. Also, since Comcast blocks P2P Network Connections, games like World of Warcraft would download slow because it does its patches via a special form of Torrenting. Thats my assumption, is it correct? [ + quote]
binkie7 (Moderator) 15 January 2008 19:50
@banned2X lol - nope the word wasn't sucks that I edited. 7thsinger gets the gold star :) [ + quote]
snowlock (Junior Member) 15 January 2008 20:13
From everything I've read, comcast has some seriously unfair practices for its customers. That's plain effed up. The thing is I've been using comcast for years with no throttling that I can see. Seven years or so ago when I first got it the service would go down a few times every week, but it's probably only went down twice in the past year, and that was when storms took out all cable. The speed went up every time they said it would, and now I get retarded-fast downloads. If they throttled me, I'd probably want to drop the service but wouldn't be able to. They have a monopoly in this market; no other broadband isp out here. [ + quote]
fgamer (Member) 16 January 2008 2:25
This is why we need more ISP's in the braodband market. This is what happens when 1 company pretty much monopolizes the whole market. They do what they wanna do, don't care how much you complain, use unfair practices and have crappy customer support! Why?...Because there's no other company to challenge them and suck up their customer base. They know you'll stick with them because there aint no other ISP to go to in your market more than likely. And who the hell want's DSL? So hopefully the FCC or whoever lays down the law..pronto!! [ + quote]
dosguy (Newbie) 17 January 2008 16:26
I've experienced throttling and so have several other people in my area (Mid-Atlantic state). It's not right that we are not getting the service we are paying for. If Comcast cannot keep up with the demand of its customers, they have only legitimate two choices - either upgrade their equipment, or rewrite their terms of service, specifying how much bandwidth customers are allowed to use before being cut back, in which case they would have to keep track of each customer's usage and inform him/her when they are approaching their limit. [ + quote]
NunYoBus (Newbie) 19 January 2008 14:09
Having only a couple of options (Money wise) in my area I have to stay with Verizon even though they throttle my connection. Large files that used to DL in about 15 minutes tops now take several hours. I can switch to Hughes net but at over a $100 a month it's a little out of my reach. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 19 January 2008 14:44
*Originally posted by NunYoBus:* Having only a couple of options (Money wise) in my area I have to stay with Verizon even though they throttle my connection. Large files that used to DL in about 15 minutes tops now take several hours. I can switch to Hughes net but at over a $100 a month it's a little out of my reach. Hughes net bombs you to dial up sped after about 400MB in less than 4 hours and you stay on it for abotu 8-10 hours......its a pretty sight seeing a 140$ a month broadband service run dial up speeds (5.oKBbs) 20ish hours a day....trust me when I say huges net is not a option unless you can afford the 200+a month plan..... [ + quote]
ahiah9 (Member) 22 January 2008 21:49
My local broadband ISP just got bought out by Comcast. Changes took effect the first of the year. Just experienced "throttling" for the first time 2 days ago. Still happening. Thank god I'm moving next month. Hopefully the choice of ISP will be better. Right now, it's Comcast cable or AT&T DSL. [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 14 February 2008 21:59
If comcast has this many issues why dont just users just change their isp because this sounds more like the p2p fight to me everyday. [ + quote]
snowlock (Junior Member) 15 February 2008 19:40
the way i see it, many users don't change their isp because they can't. i don't have any other worthwhile option out here (too far out for dsl, satellite=not worth it.) comcast does all right by me, but it's not like i'd have the choice to switch if they didn't. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15 February 2008 19:41
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 15 February 2008 20:52
*Originally posted by snowlock:* the way i see it, many users don't change their isp because they can't. i don't have any other worthwhile option out here (too far out for dsl, satellite=not worth it.) comcast does all right by me, but it's not like i'd have the choice to switch if they didn't. Right so that explains it because there is no competition in their market they can pretty much do as they please. Well i feel that some company should real give them a fight on their hands cause this is not fair on consumers although u may be fine by comcast the fact that you dont have a choice is a problem in itself. [ + quote]
ahiah9 (Member) 22 February 2008 11:13
Well, I've moved from Comcast to Bright House, which is Roadrunner internet.Hopefully my problems will be over, but I doubt it. The TOS for both companys read about the same, and the reps I've talked to are pretty well leading me to think this might be comcast with the serials shaved off. I pay extra for a higher speed package, which I'm entitled to use so long as I don't "bog down the network". Same ol same ol, I believe. [ + quote]