Comcast welcomes FCC inquiry into traffic management
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Cable-modem service provider Comcast said Wednesday that it would welcome a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)&#160;investigation into its broadband traffic management practices.FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, speaking at the&#160;Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas&#160;on Tuesday, said the commission would investigate&#160;complaints that Comcast was blocking some peer-to-peer (P-to-P) traffic. An Associated Press investigation published in October found that Comcast was slowing traffic connected through the popular BitTorrent file-sharing program.A Comcast spokeswoman said Wednesday that the company had not yet received information requests from the FCC. Comcast, in a statement, also defended its practice of sometimes slowing P-to-P traffic during peak traffic times.&quot;We look forward to responding to any FCC inquiries regarding our broadband network management,&quot; David Cohen, Comcast&#39;s executive vice president, said in the statement. &quot;We believe our practices are in accordance with the FCC&#39;s policy statement on the Internet where the commission clearly recognized that reasonable network management is necessary for the good of all customers.&quot;Comcast will work with the FCC to better inform customers about broadband network management, the statement said. &quot;Comcast does not, has not, and will not block any Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services,&quot; Cohen said.Martin also said the FCC would look into complaints that Verizon Wireless and other wireless carriers were blocking access to text-messaging on their networks. In September,&#160;Verizon Wireless denied Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, access&#160;when the group asked to allow Verizon customers to sign up for its text-messaging alerts.&#160;Verizon reversed the decision a day later.A Verizon Wireless spokeswoman didn&#39;t immediately respond to a request for comments on Martin&#39;s CES speech.In December, eight consumer and public-interest groups -- including Public Knowledge, the Consumer Federation of America and Consumers Union -- filed a complaint with the FCC, saying mobile phone providers should not be able to block text messages from political groups and advertisers.Public Knowledge and Free Press, both critical of provider traffic blocking, praised Martin&#39;s CES statements. Public Knowledge is pleased that the FCC is &quot;willing to stand by their principles to protect American consumers,&quot; the group said in a statement. &quot;We look forward to FCC proceedings that will determine what are legitimate uses of power by telecom companies, and which are not.&quot;
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F5 Networks will reveal its long-touted next-generation Internet traffic management switch on Tuesday, a device it says will help corporate customers get better performance from their networks.
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After a congressional report last month criticized the FCC and private industry for not working better together to ensure a smoother DTV transition, one commissioner responded by saying the executive branch should get involved.
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Hundreds of groups and individual Internet users sounded off to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on net neutrality in comments filed Monday, the deadline for responding to the agency&#39;s inquiry into the proposed regulation.
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Agency seeks public comment as first step in deciding how far Internet service providers can go before they transcend "reasonable network management" and run afoul of federal policy.
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The Federal Communications Commission will investigate complaints that Comcast actively interferes with Internet traffic as its subscribers try to share files online.
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As traffic increases, experts say ISPs may start charging by the gigabyte, limiting use of some services and snooping at the data passing through their networks.
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Comcast Corp. Monday said it has received letters of inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission regarding complaints that the company actively interferes with its subscribers' Internet traffic.
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Asks the U.S. Court of Appeals to review the FCC's decision to require so-called open-access rules.
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Comcast customers in Manassas and Manassas Park are finally getting what they wanted -- competition.
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Are you a Comcast customer? Your bandwidth hogging days may be limited.
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Two public-interest groups praised the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for opening three inquiries into network traffic management practices by broadband providers and mobile phone carriers.The FCC announced Monday it would launch inquires into the blocking of some text messages on mobile phone networks, into the slowing of p-to-p (peer-to-peer) traffic, and into what constitutes reasonable broadband traffic management. The three inquires were based on complaints by public interest groups such as Public Knowledge and Free Press and by Vuze, a company that uses the BitTorrent p-to-p protocol to distribute Web-based video.Public Knowledge, Free Press, Vuze, and other organizations filed complaints with the FCC after press reports last year that broadband provider&#160;Comcast slowed BitTorrent traffic. Several public-interest groups also filed a complaint after Verizon Wireless denied Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, access when the group asked to the carrier to allow Verizon customers to sign up for text-messaging alerts.&#160;Verizon reversed the decision&#160;a day later.Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice confirmed Tuesday that Comcast has received a letter from the FCC asking the broadband provider to describe its traffic management practices. The FCC inquiry more broadly targets broadband traffic management by all broadband providers.Similarly, the text-messaging inquiry is looking at whether any mobile phone operators should be able to block text messages. And the traffic-management inquiry focuses on what are acceptable traffic management practices industrywide, not just at Comcast.Comcast repeated a&#160;statement it released last week, when FCC chairman Kevin Martin said he planned to look into the complaints. Comcast believes its actions constitute &quot;reasonable network management&quot; and are &quot;necessary for the good of all customers,&quot; the statement said. Comcast does not halt access to any Web site or services, including p-to-p services, the statement said.Public Knowledge, Free Press, and other groups have pushed the FCC and the U.S. Congress to adopt so-called net neutrality rules, which would prohibit broadband providers from blocking or slowing Web content from competitors. Comcast and other providers have argued that some network management is needed to protect customers against bandwidth hogs.Public Knowledge praised the FCC for its three new inquires, saying the investigations will help define consumer rights online. &quot;These inquiries will go a long way to setting out a road map for determining who will control the Internet, and whether texting will be seen in the same light as wireless voice services,&quot; Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn said by e-mail. &quot;We anticipate that at the end of the day, consumers will have more control over their Internet and wireless experiences than they do now.&quot;Free Press also praised the FCC action. &quot;Free speech should be protected everywhere -- whether it&#39;s text messages, phone calls, e-mails, or the Internet,&quot; Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, said in a statement. &quot;The FCC has started to respond to a growing public outcry, but they shouldn&#39;t drag their feet. Companies like Comcast and Verizon have showed repeatedly that they can&#39;t be trusted. Without quick and decisive action, they&#39;ll keep blocking, manipulating and interfering.&quot;
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'We manage, but we don't block.' New tests have confirmed that Comcast is throttling file-sharing traffic.â¦
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What is "reasonable network management"? At long last, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will investigate claims that Comcast has put a choke hold on P2P file-sharing traffic.â¦
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal that could determine whether cable broadband providers can be forced to open their networks to other Internet providers.
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In a Jan. 14 story, The Associated Press, relying on information from Comcast Corp., erroneously reported the company had received letters of inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission. The company received one letter, not multiple, regarding complaints that it actively interferes with its subscribers' Internet traffic.
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Demonstrating it's taking seriously charges that Comcast's "network management" practices for slowing down P2P traffic constitute discrimination, the government agency has asked the public to weigh in.