Comcast Acknowledges Blocking Traffic

Comcast Corp. acknowledged Tuesday that they had been "delaying" some subscriber Internet traffic, but said any roadblocks it puts up are temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users. Personally I believe that what they did was complete crap. On top of that, other groups have also denounced Comcast's actions, calling it an example of the kind of abuse that could be curbed "Net Neutrality" legislation. Net Neutrality is the idea that Internet Service Providers are required to treat all internet traffic equally.

The thing that causes me to lose all credibility in Comcast is that they have repeatedly denied blocking any Internet application, and then reversing their statements, acknowledging that they have denied PAYING CUSTOMERS usage of the internet. The programs that they've blocked included "peer-to-peer" file-sharing programs like BitTorrent, Gnutella, and Lotus Notes, an IBM Corp. program used in corporate settings. Mitch Bowling, the senior vice president of Comcast Online Services, added a nuance to their prior statement, saying that while Comcast may block initial connection attempts between computers, it would eventually allow access if the computers keep trying. "During periods of heavy peer-to-peer congestion, which can degrade the experience for all customers, we use several network management technologies that, when necessary, enable us to delay — not block — some peer-to-peer traffic. However, the peer-to-peer transaction will eventually be completed as requested," Bowling said.

"Comcast is making arbitrary bandwidth allocation decisions slowing use of basic (programs) without being clear to consumers what they really get when they buy a broadband connection," said Markham Erickson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Open Internet Coalition, a group that counts Google Inc. and eBay Inc. among its supporters. Basically this means that if Comcast doesn't approve of the application being used for internet usage, they can essentially hinder access indefinitely. Yes, they claim that they only delay access for those programs, but that paradoxically translates into a unfair allocation of bandwidth for other paying customers.

In addition, I say that I agree with Peter Eckersley, a staff technologist at Electronic Frontier Foundation when he says, "If ISPs start regularly engaging in conduct like this, then kids in their dorm rooms or small startup companies that are trying to develop innovative new uses of the Internet are going to have to come and get permission from players like Comcast to get their protocols working properly. That kind of veto over innovation would be very bad news." By limiting connections, I feel that Comcast has opened Pandora's Box. Not only are they losing face, but they have effectively began turning the wheels to essentially prevent them from ever doing this sort of thing again. What were they thinking? Obviously management missed the full implications on this one, and on top of that, effectively proved what a lackluster bunch of brainless idiots they all are.

Comcast Corp: 0
Internet Users: 10,000,000,000 and counting...