Rich Fiscus
29 Oct 2007 11:09
In the words of one Comcast employee, the company's policy of "shaping traffic" which results in disruption of some P2P services is a result of corporate arrogance. "They did it because they think they can get away with it."
This comment was made to Ars Technica, which has published comments from a number of Comcast employees in the aftermath of AP and EFF tests that confirmed issues with not only P2P, but also some business applications when transmitting across the Comcast broadband cable network. Comcast has officially acknowledged only that they "delay" some packets, which is apparently what causes the applications to fail when transmitting to external networks across the internet.
Company sources have reportedly provided INTERNAL emails detailing tech support's responsibility to repeat the official company line. An email sent to a call center manager emphasized that all company representatives must mirror official statements that "We have a responsibility to provide all of our customers with a good experience online and we use the latest technologies to manage our network." It adds "This is standard practice for ISPs and network operators all over the world."
If, in fact, what Comcast is doing is standard practice, it seems strange that the company is dodging the issue with statements like this oft repeated gem from spokesman Charlie Douglas. "Comcast does not Block access to any applications, including BitTorrent."
Perhaps more importantly, if Comcast feels the need to limit traffic to this extent, what effect will this have on future applications like hi-def IPTV and video downloads?
Source: Ars Technica