Comcast could receive hefty FCC fine for throttling Bit Torrent traffic
Remember Octobers news of Comcast throttling Bit Torrent traffic? The debacle not only created a firestorm of bad press for the nations largest cable provider but also re-ignited the nationwide debate about Net Neutrality. We had numerous signs that Comcast was inhibiting our use of this legal and legitimate file transfer protocol, but to have the AP catch them red handed was icing on the cake.
To add to our pleasure, we learned today that the Federal Communications Commission FCC has finally taken notice of Comcasts indiscretion as well. According to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a group of consumer advocates and legal scholars have asked the commission to look into Comcast discriminating against specific types of data read: Bit Torrent. The groups have also requested the FCC to fine Comcast $195,000 per affected subscribers. In case you were wondering, at last report, Comcast has 9.1 million subscribers.
We dont really think Comcast will be forced to fork out the projected $1.77 trillion, but we do hope they get scraped through the mud on this one. They completely disregarded their entire customer base and should receive far more than just bad press as a result of this. If you are a company and youre going to filter network traffic, be transparent and disclose it up front. If not, be ready to pay up to Mr. Martin.
To add to our pleasure, we learned today that the Federal Communications Commission FCC has finally taken notice of Comcasts indiscretion as well. According to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a group of consumer advocates and legal scholars have asked the commission to look into Comcast discriminating against specific types of data read: Bit Torrent. The groups have also requested the FCC to fine Comcast $195,000 per affected subscribers. In case you were wondering, at last report, Comcast has 9.1 million subscribers.
We dont really think Comcast will be forced to fork out the projected $1.77 trillion, but we do hope they get scraped through the mud on this one. They completely disregarded their entire customer base and should receive far more than just bad press as a result of this. If you are a company and youre going to filter network traffic, be transparent and disclose it up front. If not, be ready to pay up to Mr. Martin.



