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Comcast/P2P Hearing Set for Friday
At its open meeting Friday, the Federal Communications Commission will consider a proposed order that addresses Comcast's controversial network management practices for its broadband services.
Comcast found itself in the middle of controversy when it was revealed that the company's network management efforts were impacting peer-to-peer file sharing services such as BitTorrent. The talk led FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to propose an order that takes aim at the cable giant and its efforts to manage customer access to peer-to-peer file sharing services.
With the meeting and commissioner votes set to take place on Martin's proposed order, consumer groups took aim at the nation's largest MSO.
"This vote reflects the bipartisan support for protecting consumers' access to the free and open internet. Comcast's blocking is a flagrant violation of the online rights established by the FCC," said Marvin Ammori, general counsel for Free Press.
"If adopted, this order would send a strong signal to the marketplace that arbitrarily interfering with users' online choices is not acceptable. Internet service providers do not get to decide the winners and losers online."
In the past few weeks, Comcast has defended its network management practices, saying it does not block any internet content, application or service. Also, the company has complained that the FCC has never provided any guidance on what it means by reasonable network management.
"The carefully limited measures that Comcast takes to manage traffic on its broadband network are a reasonable part of Comcast's strategy to ensure a high-quality, reliable internet experience for all Comcast High-Speed Internet customers and are used by many other ISPs around the world," the company said in a July 11 statement.
At its open meeting Friday, the Federal Communications Commission will consider a proposed order that addresses Comcast's controversial network management practices for its broadband services.
Comcast found itself in the middle of controversy when it was revealed that the company's network management efforts were impacting peer-to-peer file sharing services such as BitTorrent. The talk led FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to propose an order that takes aim at the cable giant and its efforts to manage customer access to peer-to-peer file sharing services.
With the meeting and commissioner votes set to take place on Martin's proposed order, consumer groups took aim at the nation's largest MSO.
"This vote reflects the bipartisan support for protecting consumers' access to the free and open internet. Comcast's blocking is a flagrant violation of the online rights established by the FCC," said Marvin Ammori, general counsel for Free Press.
"If adopted, this order would send a strong signal to the marketplace that arbitrarily interfering with users' online choices is not acceptable. Internet service providers do not get to decide the winners and losers online."
In the past few weeks, Comcast has defended its network management practices, saying it does not block any internet content, application or service. Also, the company has complained that the FCC has never provided any guidance on what it means by reasonable network management.
"The carefully limited measures that Comcast takes to manage traffic on its broadband network are a reasonable part of Comcast's strategy to ensure a high-quality, reliable internet experience for all Comcast High-Speed Internet customers and are used by many other ISPs around the world," the company said in a July 11 statement.