FCC rules against Comcast, now what?
The FCC finally acted on Comcast's "data management", finding against the company because it had arbitrarily decided which applications subscribers would have access to. Of course, the judgement did not include a fine, and while it enforced a policy for open access to the internet, it doesn't seem to do much for possible bandwidth caps. Comcast does have stop its blocking practice by the end of the year, and provide details to the commission on what exactly it's done so far, and to customers on whatever it plans to do in the future. With online video distribution growing more ubiquitous and even Comcast working with BitTorrent-style technologies like GridNetworks on how to deliver HD over the internet, we're sure we haven't heard the last of this.Read - Commission Orders Comcast to End Discriminatory Network Management Practices (Warning: PDF link)
Read - Comcast Statement on FCC Internet Regulation Decision
Read - Verizon Statement on FCC's Comcast Decision
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Achilles @ Aug 1st 2008 3:23PM
Comcast, the most compressed HD channels, ever.
retro77 @ Aug 1st 2008 4:28PM
+1 for Net Neutrality
Garst @ Aug 1st 2008 4:50PM
Comcast's arguement that it needed to throttle access never held water, so this came to no surprise to me. The fact that only a few customers using what they paid for was what virtually brought down its network shows that Comcast over-sold its capacity. Those people weren't using more bandwidth or downloaded more than unlimited data, so saying what Comcast's "data management" is reasonable would be irrational. There is no legal way for Comcast to claim otherwise. There is no way to say it was preventing illegal activity without partaking in illegal activity itself.