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The Federal Communications Commission is now going to reign in on Comcast’s controversial practice of hampering peer-to-peer internet traffic. Out of the five FCC commissioners, three have voted, thus far, on whether Comcast is liable for punishment for filtering internet traffic. And all of them want the cable company to be punished, but the punitive order will officially be executed once the remaining members have voted – a mere formality. The FCC doesn’t intend to fine Comcast but merely wants it to abstain from internet traffic filtering altogether.
Comcast has been in the eye of the “network neutrality” storm since August, 2007, when TorrentFreak revealed that the leading cable company was filtering internet traffic. It is rumored that the company utilizes Sandvine hardware for warding off P2P traffic but Comcast has not even acknowledged that it indulges in such practices. Comcast is currently busy defending itself in a class-action suit which alleges that the company’s actual services betray its promises, for it restricts internet access despite promising unshackled service.
This being such a contentious issue, that has invited intense reactions from all corners, you all are expected to set the comments section afire.
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jwalch.hawk
July 28, 2008 at 10:50pm
Well, I'm not sure they're Communists... But definitely ardent Marxists. ;)
Anyways... The good thing here is that a FEDERAL AGENCY (or wait... "commission"... w/e) is stepping in for the people's best interests. I'm hoping this accomplishes two obvious things:
1) Comcast gets slapped in the nose and learns its lesson. Comcast is in a lot of places, and at least one comment so far has indicated that they're the only viable option in their area. So... If Comcast learns its lesson here, maybe we as consumers can trust them again. I think lots of people would love for that to be the case.
2) Other high-speed ISPs take note. Yeah, that's right. Maybe overseas impact even? Virgin Media, are you watching?
bcweir
July 28, 2008 at 10:39pm
FCC plans to punish Comcast, but right up front, they'll tell you there won't be any fines Has anyone figured this one out, or is this par for the course for a Republican administration known for getting way too cozy with big business?
jwalch.hawk
July 28, 2008 at 10:55pm
Well, I realize a heavy fine would be the obvious choice here, but... The thing is, it would need to be a really hefty fine for Comcast to really give a shit about it... I mean, they're big. Chances are way too high that it would've just ended up being a chump change fine, which would essentially teach Comcast that they can buy the ability to filter. What I'd rather see is a different sort of punishment for their crime, though I haven't really figured out myself what would be most appropriate (this is begging for a reply with a brilliant idea...).
So I'm not too worried about it not being a fine. Yet. Hopefully it won't get politically motivated, though. You bring up a big concern there. I'm just not ready to lose faith there. Yet.
JC's Demon Slayer
July 28, 2008 at 10:28pm
I do believe that Comcast is a shortening of COMmunist broadCASTing. This would explain a little bit. I hate having them, but the only alternative here is AT&T, which sucks for where I'm at. I'd get a worse connection, for more $$$. Bah!!! I sure hope this sticks it to Comcast's craw.
darkliquids
July 28, 2008 at 7:21pm
.. capitalism, secular humanism, scientific skepticism, free expression, online videogaming, legal bittorrent downloads, file sharing, and anything we deem 'tacky' or inappropriate.
