Rich Fiscus
25 Feb 2008 22:45
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said today that "The commission is ready, willing and able to step in if necessary to correct any practices that are ongoing today." He made the statement at today's hearing at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Although the hearing was officially a general inquiring into network management practices of broadband internet providers, it was prompted by last year's revelation that Comcast is "managing" their network by disconnecting BitTorrent transfers from customer computers.
Based on statements today the cable giant likely has more to explain than why their practice of inserting their own data into BitTorrent uploads originating on their network telling the computers on each end that the other has ended the connection.
Of course that question will certainly be on the list, but Martin hinted at another issue that may be harder for Comcast officials to explain away. "Consumers need to know if and how network management practices distinguish between different applications, so they can configure their own applications and systems properly," he said.
For many people that's at the heart of the Comcast story. Company representatives have consistently delivered carefully worded statements defending practices they've refused to detail, beyond repeating over and over again that they don't block any traffic.
Of course the validity of that statement depends on what your definition of block is. In the same way that a red light doesn't "block" you from continuing forward, or the posted speed limit doesn't "block" you from going as fast as your car is capable, Comcast's practice doesn't block BitTorrent uploads.