FCC Again Wants Details From Comcast On Its Traffic-Shaping Efforts

from the fool-me-once... dept

Comcast has already been slapped down -- well, slapped on the wrist, anyway -- by the FCC for violating Commission rules with its traffic-shaping efforts, and it could be on its way for a second rebuke. The FCC has asked Comcast for some more details on its newest "congestion management" system, which throttles heavy users' speeds for periods of time. As part of the penalty for its previous infraction, Comcast had to file details of the new system with the FCC, and the commission know wants to know if Comcast treats traffic from its own VoIP system differently than traffic from competing providers' VoIP services. The company apparently advertises the fact that its VoIP service doesn't get affected by heavy network traffic and slowdowns, giving the impression that it degrades other VoIP traffic in this new system, while leaving traffic from its service alone. This will be an interesting test of the new FCC administration, to see how it handles these sorts of complaints compared to its predecessor. It could also set an important precedent, because it sounds like Comcast handles its own VoIP traffic in a way similar to other cable companies, by setting aside a portion of bandwidth that's managed separately from a subscriber's internet traffic.

Filed Under: blocking content, fcc, traffic shaping
Companies: comcast, fcc

Comcast Has Quite A Week: Gets In Trouble For Blocking Content And For NOT Blocking Content

from the can't-win dept

It's been quite a week for Comcast, hasn't it? First, under a baseless legal threat from Andrew Cuomo that it was not blocking certain objectionable content, Comcast caved and agreed to start blocking that content. Then, just a few days later, the FCC (as was widely expected) concludes that Comcast violated its "open internet" guidelines by blocking certain content. So, apparently, the mixed message lessons of the day for Comcast: it's okay to block content when the government says so (with no legal basis), but it's not okay when you block stuff yourself (or so says the government, perhaps with no legal basis). Whatever you may think of the results of all of this, you'd have to forgive Comcast for not particularly liking politicians meddling in its services.

Filed Under: blocking content, fcc, traffic shaping
Companies: comcast